


The Possible Romance of Damon and Stefan

by Andromeda_Cain



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-09
Updated: 2012-10-09
Packaged: 2017-11-01 16:23:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/358876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromeda_Cain/pseuds/Andromeda_Cain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, basically, my first fanfic, it's about Damon seeking comfort in the uncaring hands of sex with Alaric, but can Stefan change that? I have no idea, let's see what I can do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okies, so, yeah, I first posted this on fanfiction.net, but I'm here now dudes! Let's see if I get anymore readers, hmm?

Chapter One

 

 

            The sharp thuds his feet emitted on the hard concrete reminded him of the movie “The Birds.” He turned his head, wondering if he’d find a bunch of crows coming up from behind him. No such luck. Damon felt like a bit of roughing up.

            He was walking, towards some destination he had yet to discover. His feet seemed to know, but, as usual, they didn’t let him in on the knowledge. Well, he would find out soon enough.

            He was surprised when his walk ended in front of Alaric’s apartment. Damon smirked to himself. “Let’s see what Ricky-Rick’s up to,” he said, scratching his jawline. He pounded up the steps, enjoying the feeling of power he got from all the noise-making. He stopped at the teacher’s door, knocking. “Ricky-Rick, hellooo,” he sang out, rapping with the back of his hand. Slowly, the door creaked open.

            “Goddammit, Damon, didn’t I tell you not to call me that?” Damon grinned impishly at the form in front of him. Alaric, his tie unknotted around his neck and three of his shirt buttons undone, held a bottle of bourbon in his hand, already half-empty. Damon checked his watch, and tutted.

            “Ah, bad Ricky, it’s only five in the afternoon!” Damon said, speaking in a patronizing voice. Alaric just gave him a terrific glare, before letting the vampire in. Damon flounced in, dropped himself on the couch with a flourish, and stacked his feet on the coffee table. “You better have more alcohol than that,” he said, stretching out on his area.

            “Fucking grumble grabble grumble” was all that could be distinguished from Alaric’s retort, if you have only human ears that is. Damon just laughed quietly to himself, before downing the last of a bottle he found lying around.

 

~+~+~ O-O

 

            After seven bottles individually, four wine-coolers, and six beer cans, it was safe to say that both vampire and human were absolutely drunk out of their minds. How else could you explain what happened next?

            As Damon reached for yet another can, his movement was impeded by Alaric kind of falling on top of him. “Hey, Ricky, ShmI shman’t shee,” he said, his lips blocked by the other man’s chest. Alaric didn’t respond, just clumsily landed his mouth on the squished vampire.

            Damon’s eyes widened. This was…different. He’d experimented with this sort of thing before. It was the seventies, of course. Everyone was doing it. And, it wasn’t exactly all that bad, if a bit sloppy due to the drunkenness. Then again, that happened with the girls he was with all the time. Cautiously, he returned the closed-mouth kiss, kind of enjoying the forceful manliness.

            Alaric slipped his tongue out, probing with a needing force against Damon’s firm lips. After a small amount of confused time, Damon finally succumbed to the man, opening his lips a fraction of an inch. Turns out, that was all Alaric needed. He stuck his tongue in all the way, feeling around the inside of the vampire’s mouth. It tasted sweet, and there was the unmistakable taste of coconut. Funny.

            Shortly, it seemed that just kissing would not subdue the teacher. He slowly lifted up Damon’s shirt, circling his right nipple with his thumb. Damon let out a slight whimper, feeling his nipple respond accordingly to the motions.  _Bad, bad tit,_  he thought, admonishing his body part for some unknown reason. He’s Damon, it’s allowed.

            Alaric slowly started varying the pressure, then moved his other hand to…different places. Damon growled appreciatively, tilting his head back, mouth open. He closed his eyes. He felt as though he was slowly drifting away, toward God knows where. All he knew was he felt suffocated. Unable to breathe, unable to move his arms. 

 

~+~+~ :#

 

            It was early morning, and Damon was walking back from last night’s…ordeal. He smiled grimly to himself, wondering what would happen if he just disappeared. Fuck-up Damon, finally leaving this town alone. Letting Elena and Stefan live in peace, while he searched for his own.

            He sighed, running a hand through his soft, black hair. It was sad, when he thought of how no one would actually care if he did leave. He didn’t really mean anything to Alaric, he’d just been there when the man needed some company. Physical company. That was all Damon was ever good for. Some sex.

            Damon laughed ruefully to himself, shrugging his hands into his pockets. When did he become such a messed up individual? He supposed it started because of his father’s low expectations. Dad already told him he’d fuck up, why not rise to the occasion and be a total fuck-up? He licked his lips, a trace of last night still there. He allowed himself to think back on that as he walked up the front steps and opened the door to his house. He was surprised to see who was waiting for him.

            “Stefan?  _Qu’elle suprise_ , I thought for sure that you would be off with Elena, making musicals, feeding third-world countries by hand, things like that,” Damon said with mock-enthusiasm, then smirked.

            Stefan just glared at his brother for a second, before sighing. “When will you ever stop joking around?” he asked, an exasperated tone to his voice. Damon sighed as well.

            “When will you ever learn that laughter is the greatest medicine?” he responded, pouting his lips. He laughed a bit as he walked towards his own little medicine cabinet, opening up a bottle of pure whiskey with an appreciating moan. If there was anything that could save Damon from drowning, it was alcohol. He took a long, drawn out sip, savoring every last drop he could.

            As he pulled his lips back with a satisfying gulp, a small trail of liquid stuck between his mouth and the cup's rim, he grinned. Stefan couldn't help but stare, entranced by the whole spectacle. As he got even more appreciative, he was forced to cross one leg over the other. Damon looked over at his brother, who, in turn, quickly turned his head to the window. Damon just shrugged, filled his cup to the brim, then walked towards the staircase. "I'm going to my room, make sure you don't do anything too hectic while I'm gone," he said, smirking into his glass.

             He didn't notice, but once he left, Stefan uncrossed his legs, and quickly hurried to the restroom. He had a bother to get rid of.

 


	2. Chapter Two

The day was cloudy, threatening, and dangerous. Exactly how Damon liked it. Sure, warmth from the sun was nice, it made you feel all mushy inside. But the windy, wet weather? Now that was a beauty. It gave you a sense of remorse, showed you that the weather could cry as well. It made you feel accepted, and helped you embrace the fact that you were alone.   
Damon sighed to himself. Now, when had he ever referred to the weather as a feeling individual? He lifted his pants' waistband, checking. "Nope, don't have a period," he said to himself, before releasing the pants and downing yet another whiskey. The best thing to do during such a day as this was to sit back in bed, reading old histories. Or, as Damon called them, Stefan's diaries. He smirked to himself as he read his brother's work, most of them complaints about the vampire reading it. And what was this little quip supposed to mean? "Sometimes, I just wanna jump him and give it to him, but then my heart beats so fast as I imagine it that I have to leave the room immediately."  
Damon pondered over that sentence. "Well, if he wants to best me up, he might as well try, if only to make his entries a bit more entertaining to read," he said, mulling the thought over as he refilled his cup, this time with blood.  
He kept perusing, sipping at odd moments, until he came upon an entry that put him at a standstill, his cup crashing to the ground. "It's not that bad, I guess, since he's not even really my brother."  
Damon kept staring, unable to take his eyes away from those glaring words. He took a breath, slow and haggard though it was. "What.....the.........fuck?" The last word was whispered so quietly, you could only hear the "k" sound.  
There was no way....Stefan had to be lying. He had to! Deeming only one way that could possibly help him find out, Damon ran to Stefan's bedroom, tore out his human diaries, and sat upon the floor, searching.  
It took a while, since Stefan liked to write SO much about the most inconsequential things, so much so that Damon almost ran to the high school and dropped his probable brother's ass. Finally, Damon reached a page that seemed promising.  
"I overheard Mother and Father arguing about something. I heard Damon's name, so I stayed, wondering what he did wrong this time."  
At this, Damon snarled, throwing out cuss words and threats.  
"I creeped closer, as quietly as I could. Then I heard them:  
Mother: "You need to stop being so tough on Damon. He is only a child, and never did anything wrong, until your blatant hatred of him made him think he was a terrible ne'er-do-well on the road to becoming a Satanist!"  
Father: "That little bastard is a free-loader! He just rubs me the wrong way. Just looking at him makes me want to bash his ears in!"  
Mother: -Gasps- "How could you?! We took him in when he was just a baby, I nursed him just as I nursed our own child! You would dare to say that after what that child's father did for you?? Did for all of us???!!!!!"  
It was here that I gasped, unable to process this information. Unfortunately, my parents overheard me, and immediately set about looking for the culprit. I, of course, ran for my life to my room, where I am now writing this. Could it be true? Is Damon really not my brother? If so, then...maybe my feelings towards him aren't as unforgivable as I once thought."  
Damon sat back in a daze, unable to move, unable to even blink. His head rest against his broth- no, Stefan's bookshelf, staring up at the rotating fan. Maybe if he stared long enough, it would mesmerize him into forgetting what he just read. 

Damon's thoughts were interrupted by Stefan entering his room. The other vampire glanced at his prostrate brother, then did a double-take, noticing his journals askew about the ground. "Damon, what the hell are you doing reading my journals?" Stefan yelled, stomping up to the dude. He prayed to all the deities that Damon hadn't read the stuff about him.

Damon slowly turned his blue orbs towards Stefan's, his breath coming out in little spurts. "Is it true?" he whispered, his lips trembling.

Stefan stopped picking up his journals. He shuffled them in his hands uncomfortably. "Um…is what true?" he asked, knowing there were many secrets kept in his sacred tomes.

"Is…it…true," Damon said, more forcefully this time. He turned his head completely, his whole body facing Stefan. "Am I a bastard child? Are we not related?" he cursed to himself as he felt a bit of liquid creep into the corner of his eye. Now was not the time to be crying.

Stefan stared at Damon, unsure of how to respond. He'd kept this little secret away from Damon for his own protection. It may have been selfish, but he wanted a reason to live with the other vampire, and being related was perfect.

"Fucking tell me," Damon spit, grinding his teeth together to keep himself from falling apart.

Tucking his head in, Stefan sighed. "You…you're not a bastard. Your father and mother were prominent people, my parents' neighbors. They helped my father considerably when he needed it most. They left you to my parents' care in their will if they ever died. A vampire killed their entire family, leaving just you."

During this whole process, Damon stared, numb, unable to even show emotion. When Stefan ended, though, it seemed that his reserve was smashed. Fast, hot tears cascaded out of his eyes, racing each other to the finish line. He couldn't even feel shame for this, all he felt was utter hopelessness. Now he knew why Father had hated him. He wasn't even the child's father, and yet he'd had to take care of Damon the same way he took care of Stefan. Of course he would come to hate Damon.

Stefan tentatively reached a hand up to wipe away a few tears. "Damon…I'm so sorry. I should have told you, it's just…I didn't want you to feel any more pain than you already do. Can…" at this he stopped, and knew he couldn't ask for forgiveness. He just stared hopelessly at Damon, wishing fervently that he could do something. He hated feeling inadequate.

Damon stared at Stefan, then looked to the hand resting upon his cheek. He tried to pull himself together, wiping away most of the tears. He cleared his throat, though a trace of emotion was still lurking in his voice. "I'm…gonna go. Somewhere." He quickly sat up, racing towards the front door.

"No, Damon!" Stefan cried out, running after Damon. He lost the man, though, and had to return to their house. He decided to wait in the living room, just in case Damon came back.

~+~+~ ;

Damon ran as fast as he could, as long as he could. He briefly felt the feeling of running across water, but he quickly left that feeling behind. All he could do was keep running.

Finally, after it seemed as though his lungs would burst, he stopped, startling a crowd of people. He caught his breath, leaning against a brick wall, his mouth open as his head was tilted back. He felt a déjà vu, his mind returning to the day he'd been with Alaric. It felt so long ago.

A pretty girl who looked to be about twenty-seven walked up to him, her eyes flirting. "My, you sure have been running hard. Want something to help you settle down?" she asked, and Damon realised that she had a British accent. Shit, he'd run across the fucking Atlantic!

Realising that the little beauty was waiting for an answer, he slowly nodded. "Yeah, I could use some blood right now," he said, and just stared sadly at the confusion in the girl's eyes. "Everything's gonna be fine. Now, just follow me, and let me drink some of your blood," he said, his heart breaking as she obeyed him.

As they went behind an alleyway, he drew in a tragic breath, his eyes almost letting some tears escape. "All right," he whispered, moving the girl's long brunette hair away from her neck, "I'm not going to kill you. I just need enough to set me straight," he said, and bit as gently down on her neck as possible, giving into his vampire instincts once he tasted her blood. The girl gasped in surprise, unable to move.

Damon's eyes were squeezed shut, but he couldn't help the lone tear that escaped him, which gently fell upon the girl's shoulder, mixing with her blood, until you couldn't tell one apart from the other.

~+~+~ D:

The door to the Salvatore house creaked open, alerting the once sleeping Stefan. His head turned towards it, where he saw Damon slowly shuffling in. The vampire turned to Stefan, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. Stefan took it in stride. "Where'd you go?" he asked, standing up.

"England. Then some parts of France, Italy, Japan. Finally, I came back here," Damon responded, his eyes rather glazed over. There was no way of telling if he had turned his feelings off again or not.

Stefan hesitantly walked over to Damon, lifting a hand to rest it on Damon's cheek. He studied the man's eyes, wondering. "No, I didn't turn my emotions off," Damon answered the unspoken question, sighing.

Stefan let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been keeping in. "Well…do you want anything? Is there something I can do?" he asked, stroking Damon's cheek with his thumb. Damon stared at Stefan, confused.

"Why are you treating me like this? Like I'm a girl or something? Like I'm…Elena?" he asked, unable to get the similarity out of his head.

Stefan bit his lip, wondering if Damon could handle any more news. "Um…I'm just worried about you. You know, even if we're not related by blood, I still care," he coughed, before continuing with his sentence. "If you really need it, you can, like, sleep with me tonight. For comfort!" he quickly added, as a weirded-out look came across Damon's face.

"Uh, I'm fine, thanks," Damon said, racing to his liquor cabinet. "Besides, I shoulda known it before. I never did look like our parents anyway. Hey, this means I'm not related to you!" Damon said, masking his expression with a grin. "Guess I don't have to live with that anymore, huh?" he asked, making a joke out of things as usual.

Stefan grit his teeth, then backed Damon against a wall. "Goddammit, would you stop acting as if this didn't mean anything to you?" he growled, his body dangerously close.

Damon looked at Stefan, confused. "Um, what the fuck are you doing?" he asked, then looked down at Stefan's raging hard-on. "Your boner's digging into my hip."

Stefan blushed, but still kept his stance. "Damon, I love you. All right? I freaking love you. I care about you more than anything, more than Katherine, more than Elena. Hell, the only reason I got with them was to see if I could make you jealous!"

Damon stared incredulously at the person who used to be his brother. He opened his mouth, but words just couldn't escape. Wordlessly, he grabbed the whole bottle of whiskey, then ran upstairs to his sanctuary.

Stefan punched the wall. "Fuck!" he cried, squinting as he watched his wound heal almost automatically. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, before yet again walking to his bathroom. Yet another weasel needed to be whacked.


	3. Chapter Three

Stefan was in hell.   
He was sitting on a bench in one of the parks of Mystic Falls, his elbows testing on his knees, his head resting on his palms. He sighed, rubbing his face.  
This past week had felt as though he was traveling through all the parts of Dante's Inferno. Damon had been pointedly avoiding him, not even coming home many nights. Stefan would have confronted his roommate, but he was too scared. What would happen if he did? Would Damon leave forever? This time he groaned, pain cinching in his heart at the thought. He couldn't lose Damon. He just couldn't.  
~+~+~ :¥  
Hands grabbed at Damon's hair, pulling him down. He had to fight the urge to snarl, to release the hands holding him, and run, as fast as he could. He shuddered. He'd already ran away once, he wasn't going to succumb to that weakness again. He looked up into Alaric's eyes, the only weakness he allowed himself. They stared at each other for a while, before Alaric's resolve fell and he mashed his lips to the vampire's bare stomach again. As lips and fingers trailed his chiseled abs, Damon released a moan. Oh, such a nice weakness.  
He looked down at the figure on top of him, slowly moving towards his nether regions. As the button of his pants was released, Damon's thoughts travelled to Stefan, yet again. He was so confused. How could the man whom he had thought was his brother...love him more than platonically? A picture of Stefan came to his mind, and Damon shivered. He couldn't think of the man as anything but a sibling. A nuisance, but still his brother. How could he just drop the brother thing and accept Stefan's love? He shook his head, trying to clear it a bit.   
Alaric looked up when he felt Damon move. "What, you're thinking of something else as I make out with you?" he asked, his voice husky with lust.  
Damon looked down to Alaric, startled. But, as Stefan said, he always had to make something into a joke. Damn Stefan. "What, is Ricky-Rick jealous? Does he think his fuck-buddy isn't enjoying himself?" These words were dangerous.  
Alaric growled, before pouncing onto the vampire's lips, making them swell as he licked, bit, and sucked on them. Sometimes, Alaric reasoned, it was better to shut Damon up rather than argue. This way, the human actually won sometimes.  
As Damon broke away from the long, hard kiss, he grinned, though, if you knew the vampire's face as well as, say, Stefan, you would have noticed the sort of sadness that drifted around the grin. This was the facial expression Damon made when he couldn't express any other emotion. Damon was lost.  
~+~+~ •-•;  
As he entered his house, Damon made sure to close the door as silently as he could. He even went to far as to lift it off it's hinges. Yet, as he walked past the living room, there was Stefan. He couldn't avoid the other vampire this time.  
Stefan took one sniff of Damon and snarled. Today, he had caved in and drunk as many blood packets as he could, just to get rid of some of the pain. And yet, here Damon came, sneaking in as if he had something to hide. Which he did. Stefan stood up, baring his teeth. "You come home at three in the morning, smelling of sweat. Not the 'I just ran' kind of sweat. You smell like the sweat that comes from sex. Not only that, but it's fucking Alaric?" During this whole speech, Stefan was slowly walking forward, yet as it ended, he slammed Damon against the wall, and he could tell the other vampire was surprised by the extra strength in his arms. Good.  
"St-Stefan, quit it, get the fuck off," Damon growled, his eyes glaring daggers. If he hated anything, it was being treated like he was weak. And getting pinned to the wall? Yeah, definitely a sign of weakness. He snarled, pushing against the restraining arms, hoping to catch Stefan off guard. No such luck.  
Stefan grinned dangerously. "Yeah, that's right. I drank a shitload of blood today. No way you're getting away until I decide you can," he said, squeezing Damon's wrists for effect. "Now. Tell me why you run away from me whenever I tell you I love you, yet you're fine with fucking Alaric?!" He bit out, his nose almost touching Damon's. Even though he was angry, he couldn't help getting turned on from being so close to the man he loved. Damon noticed, looking down at the lump in Stefan's jeans.  
Damon sucked in a breath. "How the fuck could you say that? You were my brother until a week ago, you sick fuck! Then I learn all this shit about my true origins, and also that the man I thought of as my brother is in love with me?! A weaker man would have stopped functioning! You can't just expect me to drop my perception of you and jump into your arms naked, ready to fuck for God's sake!"  
Stefan started breathing hard, the picture of Damon's words reaching his mind. His hard-on grew even larger, if that was possible. Damon widened his eyes, realising the folly in his words too late. As the blood he had drunk today gave Stefan a feeling better than getting drunk, he felt euphoric, as though he could accomplish anything. There was only one thing he could think of doing. As his face came dangerously close, Damon shuddered, stuttering. "N-no, St-St-Stef-" his words were cut off by Stefan's lips, hungrily mashing onto the other vampire's. He pried Damon's mouth open, forcing his tongue in. He bit through the soft skin of Damon's lower lip, then sucked a bit of blood out. Against his will, Damon shivered in confused attraction. He couldn't keep the gasp from escaping his lips, which only spurned on Stefan's advances.  
Stefan raised Damon's arms above their heads, their fingers intertwined. His lips travelled down Damon's tan neck, slowly nipping at the skin. It seemed that they both enjoyed the little bites, the danger involved. Stefan ran his tongue over Damon's sensitive skin, relishing the long moan that followed. He travelled upwards, unable to leave Damon's lips for long periods of time. After a rather long period of time, Damon finally broke the kiss. The vampires were both breathing heavily, their boners crushed against each other. Stefan slowly released his hold on Damon, if a bit reluctantly. Okay, really reluctantly. Damon sucked on the bottom of his very swollen lip, staring up at the man just inches from him. "This doesn't change anything that I said, you know," he said, unable to hide the blush coating his cheeks. Stefan just grinned back, before placing a gentle kiss on Damon's lips.  
"This will have to suffice for now," Stefan whispered, his lips brushing against Damon's.


	4. In Which Damon is Confronted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm using this space for notes, cuz, really? Chapter summary? So, anyhoo, chapters 4 and 5 did not go so well in Fanfiction, but I hope you guys will like it! :D

It was a cold, dreary night. The leaves were falling off of trees, furry little animals were running for shelter; the rain pelted the moving objects, and Damon could just imagine some higher being up there, treating it as a sport. Instead of bullets, the deity used water. The vampire laughed emotionlessly, wondering when he had first become a cynic. Perhaps he always had been.  
He was standing in front of his window, wearing nothing but a frown. Oh, and his ring of course. He had just gotten out of the shower, see, and had been so consumed with his thoughts that he had forgotten to make sure that a towel was placed on the rack next to the sink. Now, as he stood there, he contemplated his options.  
1\. He could walk out into the depths if the house without anything on, and head for the laundry room. This was dangerous, though. Stefan was still here, and Damon had no idea if the other vampire would pop out of his room or not.

2\. He could forget about the cold that was eating away at his dick, and just pull on some clothes, uncaring of the consequential wetness he would have to go through.

3\. He could use his awesome vamp-powers to run circles around his bedroom, drying himself off in the process, but also probably making him sweaty, which would result in the need of another shower. Damon frowned. He'd kill anyone who said this, but he didn't like using up precious water. Call him silly, but he was concerned with the Earth.

Damon sighed, running a hand over his face. He decided to take his chances with the running downstairs thing. Besides, Stefan was in his room, blasting some music. He probably wouldn't even notice Damon's little excursion. He hoped.  
He opened the door, peeking his head around the big object. Nothing. So far, so good. He quickly stepped out, running at full-speed towards the laundry room. He picked up a freshly-washed towel and threw it over himself, then rested his hand on the washer, leaning into it. Damon the magnificent had done it again.  
So engrossed with his thoughts was he, that he didn't notice the moving object until it was too late. He jumped when he saw Stefan, just leaning against the doorframe, his eyes hungry as he stared at the nearly naked vampire. Damon shuffled his feet uncomfortably, wondering if there was a way out of this. Wondering if he would even take that route if there was. This thought frightened him. He was starting to actually feel something about Stefan, a different kind of feeling he wasn't used to. Could it be-? Damon didn't allow himself to finish that thought.  
Thankfully, or sadly, depending on how you look at it, before Damon allowed himself to lose his control, the two vampires' body moving towards each other as if connected by a magnetic force, the doorbell rang. Stefan, breathing hard, growled. He could smell the stench of Alaric even from this vantage point. He tore his eyes away from Damon, baring his fangs as he bore a hole through the wall, glaring towards the front door. Goddamn human and his need to ruin everything.  
Damon gave Stefan a warning look, before grabbing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt from a basket and throwing them on. He pushed Stefan back, his hand only reaching the other vampire's shoulder, as he walked towards the waiting Alaric. He was surprised when Stefan came up behind him, grabbing onto his waist and burying his face into Damon's neck. Both vampires shuddered, as Stefan's slight boner poked into Damon's back. "Goddammit, Stefan, get the fuck off of me!" Damon said, trying to hold back his panic. Stefan's response was cut off by the doorbell ringing, and then by a pounding at the door. "Come on, I need to go answer the door!" Damon said, pushing Stefan off of him and walking to the door, pulling a hand through his hair before opening it. "Ah, Ricky! What a nice surprise! A morning visit, I suppose," he said, throwing the door back and making room for Alaric to step in.  
"Uh, Damon, I came here cuz we need to tal-" Alaric stopped speaking when he saw Stefan, or, more exactly, the way Stefan was looking at Damon. His eyes narrowed. "Hey...he didn't pull anything with you, did he?" Alaric asked, gesturing to Stefan with his head. During one of their...sessions, Damon had admitted the truth of his family to Alaric in a moment of weakness. He was beginning to regret that.  
"No, nothing happened, you can calm down," Damon said, leaning against the wall, suddenly tired. His eyes shut, he didn't notice the death glares Alaric and Stefan were sending each other, but he could sense the tension in the air. He let out a puff of breath, not knowing if he was capable of handling this well. He pinched the bridge of his nose, which he had heard helps to calm you down, but all it did was send him some pain. Damn those unreliable sources. He suddenly stood up straight, his eyebrows pulled in concentration. "All right, guys, let's try to turn the testosterone level down a notch, shall we? Would anyone like a drink? I know I could use one," he said, if only to fill the silence.  
The other men looked at each other, before racing to the couch, both trying to get a position that would be next to Damon. The vampire sighed, sitting in a lone chair and staring hard at the both of them, taking small sips of his drink sporadically. "Okay, kiddos, this is extremely uncomfortable for me. I have to say, I'm not exactly equipped to handle this. So, what say we go all Mahatma Ghandi on this and become one with our feelings and the like, eh?" he asked, swirling his drink as he said this. Yep, the best way to get through this was to get crazy-ass drunk. Damon dipped his head back, downing his drink with one gulp and a wince.  
The men of the couch stared at Damon, entranced with how sexy he could make getting drunk look. After their penises quieted down, Stefan cleared his throat. "Listen, Alaric? He's only after you for sex. I, on the other hand, am extremely in love with you, and would rip the nads off of anybody who came on to you," he said. Damon was about to ask what would happen if a girl came onto him, if only to quiet the turned-on feelings awakening, when Alaric suddenly spoke up.  
"Hey, don't speak for me. Who said I didn't love Damon?" Damon looked at Alaric, flabbergasted. Alaric just pouted. "What, you thought I only liked you for the sex? Which, in fact, was absolutely fucking amazing," he smirked, looking at Stefan cockily before leaning back against the couch. Stefan growled, but held back his anger. He'd give Alaric a beating when Damon wasn't around to watch.  
Damon stared at the two, already exhausted. "Um," he said, speaking around his fourth cup of alcohol, "Alaric...I never knew. If I did...I wouldn't have had sex with you. I'm sorry, it's just...I don't feel the same way." He stared down at his cup, unable to meet Alaric's broken gaze, nor Stefan's euphoric one.  
Trying, and failing, to contain himself, Alaric just nodded, his head drooping a bit as he struggled to maintain his composure. He moved to the front door silently, his body stiff except for the tips of his fingers, which trembled uncontrollably. Damon drew in a sharp breath, unable to believe how fast this day went from all right to his personal hell. He mentally cursed the writer for being unable to write properly, and silently sent an apology to all who are now reading this.  
Defeated, Damon got up to refill his drink. But as he lifted the cup to his lips, he stopped as he felt Stefan snaking his arms around his waist yet again. But this time, Damon didn't try to stop him. He just tilted his head back until it was leaning against Stefan's shoulder, allowing himself to breathe the other vampire in. Stefan looked down at Damon, wondering if this could truly be happening. Damon slowly returned the dude's gaze, his eyes half-closed. "If you aren't in love with Alaric..." he heard these words escape Stefan's lips, and closed his eyes as Stefan finished, "could you be in love with me?" Damon could tell the vampire was trying to keep his voice level, but the unmistakable high note that ended the sentence was easy to hear.  
Damon opened his eyed again, whispering these words: "I think I already am."


	5. And Now For Something Completely Different!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You must say this chapter name out loud and with an English accent. It is the only way I shall be content.
> 
> Also, a lot of my readers were like, going mad over wanting a threesome. Does anyone here agree? I told them a one-shot about that MAY happen. If I don't die of sexual embarrassment.

Damon groaned as he fell into bed, resisting the urge to jump through his window and end his sorry life. Oh, the events of today that transpired made his head hurt. He sighed, resting his arm across his forehead, if only to try to keep it from imploding. What was this? He was used to being loner Damon, the one always left out of those love triangles, having to force his way into meaningful relationships. He had craved companionship like Stephen Tyler craves botox.

He bit his thumbnail as he thought about Stefan and Alaric, still unable to believe that both of the men loved him. How could this be? It just didn't compute. If Damon starred in a movie, he'd be the lonely dude who acted like an asshole to get attention, and finally killed himself because what other option would he have? Making love to insignificant people who only liked his body? "Shit," Damon hissed, wondering if Alaric had misplaced his feelings for Damon. How could anyone perceive the vampire as anything but a booty call?

Damon went over his relationship with the teacher. They'd started out terribly, as all relationships pertaining to Damon do, then they had started to get friendly, until the truth of Alaric's wife came to pass. Damn, what was that chick's name again? Eleanor? No? Well, whatever, after that, it seemed as though Alaric would never speak to Damon again. Damon had had mixed feelings about that. On one hand, he was happy that his shell was not broken through, and he could keep himself hidden and safe behind his sarcasm. On the other hand…he hated the thought of being alone. Of having no one to turn to, no one who actually enjoyed his company. But then, it seemed Alaric finally forgave the vampire and they had continued to be bffls or whatever those kids call it. Until that fateful day, that is.

Damon guessed it all had started then. When he'd let himself cave in and fucked the human. After that, all sorts of things came to light. Such as Stefan's sexuality. Damon smirked. If this wasn't so serious, he would probably be lording Stefan's feelings over him and doing provocative things just to get Stefan riled. But, for some reason, Damon didn't want to. He didn't feel the need to turn Stefan on, he just wanted…to be near the other vampire. He shivered, wondering what had happened to him. Did Stefan really get to him that much?

Speaking of Stefan…again, Damon wondered how the vampire could love him. Stefan had always been the goody-goody, never wrong, always following in his father's footsteps. It seemed as though Elena was perfect for his br- no, his roommate, and their relationship came about smashingly. It had seemed as though Stefan had found "the one," and Damon could hardly stand it. The man who ruined his whole life, who made him face this eternity (at the time) without Katherine…and also, the man who had conquered his dark side and returned to that brilliant light.

Damon sat up, the sensation of choking attacking his throat. That was what had really gotten to him. That Stefan could beat all those odds and still come out the hero, the better at everything, the loved one. And all this time, Stefan had the hots for Damon? No, Damon thought, shaking his head. If anything, Stefan was probably using Damon, seeking something out of torturing him like this. What other reason would Stefan have to make out with him? Ignoring the obvious answer, Damon fell back onto the bed, at odds with his sanity.

When Stefan had asked Damon if he could love him, Damon had responded without thinking. He regretted this now, especially since it was yet another thing Stefan could use against the older vampire. Although, if Stefan's sources were correct, Damon was actually as old, if not younger than the Stefan. Damon growled, ripping an article of clothing lying around. Not only had Damon lost his parents, his brother, and everything else pertaining to his identity, but he lost the one thing that he could be proud of? He wasn't the eldest brother anymore? He bit his lip hard, tasting the blood as it flowed out of the wound. He sighed now, feeling it close up almost automatically. Damon remembered the times when hurting himself had been much easier, and almost wished for those days back.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knocking at his door, and he sat up quickly as Stefan walked in. "I smelled your blood, so I got to wondering…" Stefan said, closing the door and leaning against it.

"It's nothing," Damon bit out, sitting on the edge of his bed quickly.

Stefan looked at Damon, confused. Just earlier he had felt as though he and Damon were having a breakthrough, that maybe he just might make the other vampire fall for him. Stefan tried not to lose hope as he stared at the closed off, glaring face across from him, and just played with the bottom of his shirt, before looking up again. "You…you wanna talk about what happened today?" he asked softly, looking up into Damon's cool blue eyes.

Damon bit his lip again, but not as hard. He looked at the eyes looking at him, greyish-green with an aura of emotion Damon couldn't quite place, before sighing and falling onto the bed. "What's to talk about?" he asked, realising he probably wouldn't be left alone if he didn't at least answer.

Stefan stood up straight, letting go of his shirt. "Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you told me that you think you're in love with me?" he let out, his teeth grit. Damon snapped his head up, his mouth open as he tried to think of something to pass that off as nothing. Coming up with zip, he just dropped his head, closing his eyes as he groaned into his hand. Dammit, why wouldn't Stefan just leave him alone? It was obvious who had won this fight.

His eyes snapped open as he felt a weight on top of him, pulling his arms up over his head. He tried not to meet Stefan's searching eyes, but failed spectacularly as he became entranced by the same eyes he used to think he hated. He let out a soft whimper, hating that Stefan made him feel this way, yet loving it oh so much.

Stefan looked down at Damon, searching. It seemed as though the man he loved was close to tearing up. Stefan bit his lip, trying to throw his feelings of lust into a gigantic box, since this was about more than sex. He kept staring at Damon, looking for something before he whispered, "Damon…please, just tell me. What am I to you?"

Damon's lip trembled as he tried to keep himself in check. "I…" he said, his throat constricted, "I don't know. How am I supposed to know? It's all happening so fast, too fucking fast! You and Alaric…you guys mean a lot to me. I feel like shit right now, and I don't want to do the same to you. Just…please, let me think and sort all of this out," Damon choked out, a disobedient tear slipping out.

Stefan drew in a shaky breath, tears also threatening to spill out. "Damon…" he whispered, closing his eyes and turning his head away, trying to hide the liquid escaping them. "Damon, I love you…" he sniffed, before continuing, "I just love you so much. It's…it's so hard, seeing you but not being able to touch you…to tell you how much I love you whenever I want…oh, god, Damon," Stefan let out, throwing his arms around Damon's neck as he sobbed into his chest. Stricken, Damon slowly returned the embrace, pulling his loose arms around Stefan's back as he tried to hold them both together. As he felt Stefan slowly drifting into a mind-numbing sleep, Damon's arms shook. "Fuck," he whispered to himself, unable to place his emotions, unable to admit them.

~+~+~ :&

He woke to a slow vibrating in his pants. Wondering if he had left a sex toy in his bed, Damon opened his eyes slowly, his hand searching for the object in question. His hand came up with only his phone, thank Buddha. Damon squinted at the screen, his eyes adjusting to the brightness as he read the text.

Damon…we really need to talk, it said, and Damon already knew who had sent it. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair before gently lifting Stefan's arms off of him, standing up as he studied the sleeping vampire, his arms sprawled out and his mouth open, eliciting a strong buzzing wheeze. He smiled affectionately, then quickly hid his emotions as he changed into new clothes and left the house quietly, not wanting to wake and therefore alert Stefan.

As he took his usual route, Damon thought of last night. He had tried to stay up, but he had just felt so…comforted, in those big strong arms, that he had drifted off not shortly after Stefan. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, his cheeks warming as he thought of what Stefan had said, and, to Damon's surprise, what hadn't happened. He had been sure that Stefan would have just caved into lust or whatever it was that drove him and thrown himself on Damon, taking advantage of him in his weak state. But, instead…Damon's whole face reddened now, as he remembered those words whispered in his ear, so much stronger than anything else Stefan had don before. Maybe…maybe it was possible that Stefan loved him. Damon shook his head, trying and failing to rid his thoughts of Stefan as he climbed those familiar steps, this time trying to make as little noise as possible.

It seems he failed at this, too, for as soon as he reached Alaric's door, it opened, Alaric stepping out, half of his shirt untucked, his eyes red-rimmed. Damon sucked in a breath, hating himself for putting Alaric through this. He bit his lip, taking Alaric's silence as a welcome as he stepped through the door and immediately turned to face the man closing the door.

Alaric pushed it closed, leaning against it and taking a deep breath before turning around, the expression on his face nearly killing Damon. Oh, how he wished he could just kill himself for hurting the man he considered his best friend. How was he to know that what he thought was innocent sex (AN- juxtaposition much? XD) could turn his whole life inside out? He looked up to Alaric, still silent as he lifted his mouth in a sad half-smile.

Alaric returned it with a weak replica, his throat burning. "So," he said, then cleared his throat once he realised how choked up he was, making sure to lose that before continuing, "now that I've brought you here…" he trailed off, realising the only reason he'd asked Damon to come was to lose his loneliness and stare at the man he loved. Alaric gasped as this thought came to life, bursting inside his head and beating it senseless. Of course. He was so weak he couldn't even go a day without seeing his beautiful Damon.

Damon's smile vanished as he saw the pained look on Alaric's face, and admitted to himself that he was the cause. Unable to just stand and watch his best friend deteriorate before his eyes, Damon walked up, his arms reaching around Alaric's as he pulled the human in for a hug, never mind how much taller the teacher was. Alaric gasped, wrapping his arms around Damon's waist reflexively, the thought of never letting go invading his mind. He closed his eyes, content to just hold Damon for now.


	6. The Shortest Chapter Yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is basically a filler so I could get that little Dalaric speech over the hill...yeah. XP

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Perry...comments like yours are what I live for. Please, keep reviewing! I love the constructive criticism! :D

Alaric looked over at Damon, a beer resting on his tummy. He'd been nursing the same one for the past hour. You see, once Damon had pried himself out of the History teacher's arms, all he'd done was crack open some booze and proceeded in finishing off about three. Alaric's eyes squinted as he looked at Damon through the corner of them, wondering how to guide this into an actual conversation. Fear ate away at his gut as he peeled the label off of his bottle, words unable to leave his mouth.

Damon downed his bottle, looking at the emptiness and wishing he had savored it a bit more. He could have used a quick feed right now, but due to the circumstances, he felt it was better if he just kept his fangs in line. He could just wait until he reached home and snag a few blood packets. He looked at Alaric through the corner of his eyes, then was unable to hold back a laugh when he saw Alaric was doing the same. Alaric joined in on the laughter, happy, until it died down and the moment turned awkward. Damon ran a hand through his hair, resting his head on the back of his chair. "Damn, I miss this," he sighed, closing his eyes.

Alaric sat up straight, holding onto the couch for support. "Yeah…I miss it too," he whispered, remembering what had happened yesterday. He suddenly stood, staring at the prostrate vampire. "Damon…I should have tried harder yesterday. Maybe, if I had told you just how much I love you, you would feel differently," he said, hope gleaming in his eyes.

Damon stared at Alaric, his hands trembling. He slowly sat up straight, keeping his eyes on the floor. "Alaric…I meant what I said. I only think of you as a frie—"

"No!" Alaric yelled, startling the vampire and a nervous pigeon which had just rested on the nearby windowsill. Alaric stared after it, wondering what it would be like to fly away right now. His cheeks burned with embarrassment, but he couldn't let this go. Damon meant too much to him. "Damon…when you said that yesterday, it freaking broke my heart. I didn't even have the courage to give it my all, because I was afraid of the consequences." He sucked in a breath, then stared straight into Damon's eyes. "But now, after tonight, having to face the fact that I didn't try my hardest to make you see, to understand me…I almost gave up. But then, I thought of you, and I realised I would never be happy until you knew. I love you, Damon. I love you so fucking much. Why do you think I forgave you for turning my wife? For endangering my life all those times? For all the other shit you've pulled? Because even though you may have pissed me off, the thought of not being next to you drowned out all the other problems and I realised that I didn't need anything else if I could just have you. If I could share everything with you, not hold back any of my feelings, and just be honest about how you affect me.

"I won't be cliché and say you make me want to become a better man, and all that shit. Because you don't. You don't demand anything. When I'm around you, I feel like I could tell you the worst things about me and you'd still accept me, still want to be around me. And that's what made me love you. I want to always feel this way, and I wish I could make you feel the same. Please…please Damon. I want you. I need you to be mine." He looked away for a brief period, before turning back to Damon. "But don't answer me right now. Take some time to…think it over," Alaric ended, feeling weak and overexerted.

Damon sat back, trying to breathe. It all felt like too much. It was just too fucking much! He got up suddenly, muttering a quick goodbye before he left, streaking across the streets until he reached his house. He rested his forehead against the front door, praying to God that Stefan wasn't there. He didn't think his mind could take another speech about someone loving him, couldn't take any more confusion.

He decided to take his chances, quickly opening the door and rushing to his bedroom, flopping down on the bed when he realised he was alone. He took out his phone, again looking at Alaric's old text from this morning. So that was what Alaric had wanted to talk about. Damon had been sure that his best friend wanted to take back the words said yesterday, sure that Alaric would tell him that he'd just been mistaking lust for love, like everyone else in Damon's life, except…Alaric hadn't. Neither had Stefan. Damon rested his hands above his eyes, sighing. He had absolutely no idea how to deal with any of this, seeing as he'd never been the one receiving the love in any relationship. No, the only way his weak little mind had ever found devotion was through compelling humans into it. No one had ever picked Damon before, and they were smart to. No one had ever loved Damon. Until now.

He pulled a hand through his hair, then laced both of them behind his head, closing his eyes as he thought over Alaric and his feelings. For all this time, he had never noticed the feelings that his friend had been harboring for him. Damon sucked in a breath, reaching a hand up to the ceiling, grasping for something that wasn't there. Sighing, he let his hand drop back to his stomach, shaking his head to clear the thoughts jumbling together until he couldn't discern one from the other.

All Damon knew was that Stefan made him feel something he thought had died a hundred years ago. He didn't feel as though he had to have sex with Stefan to really connect. All he wanted, for now, was to be as close to his roommate as possible. Choking back his sudden emotions, Damon thought of Stefan, thought of all the ways Stefan made him feel better. Stefan was the only one Damon had cried in front of since he was turned into a vampire. The only one he had wanted to open up to.

Sitting up, Damon walked to his window, watching as Stefan returned from wherever he had gone. Reaching a hand up to his chest, Damon clutched at his shirt. "Fuck," he whispered, wondering what these feelings were.


	7. A Scene in Which They Make Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup...make out scene...I quite enjoyed it, hope you feel the same!

As Stefan walked up to his front door, his hands shrugged down into his jean pockets, he smelled the air, searching for that one familiar scent. He detected the stench of overdone hotdogs from down the street, kids sweating as they played soccer and...yes, the faintest smell of Damon invaded his nose as he reached out for the door's handle.  
Pulling it open, Stefan smiled, before drawing his eyebrows down across his eyes. He had been confused and disoriented when he woke up to the absence of Damon, and he now wondered if they had crossed over Damon's comfort zone last night. Shaking his head and sighing, Stefan went to the basement for a couple of blood packets before walking upstairs with two glasses. He had scented Damon's hunger and thought it would be nice if they shared a meal together. Smirking to himself at the normality of his previous thought, considering just what their "meal" was, Stefan pushed Damon's door, which had been left ajar, open with his foot and smiled at Damon as he set their "meal" down on a nearby table.  
Damon, who was still standing at the window, looked at Stefan over his shoulder and gave him a tired smile in welcome. His eyes seemed to brighten when he caught a whiff of the blood. His smile grew wider as he walked over to Stefan, who was now distributing the blood into the glasses, giving Damon a bit more. Surreptitiously glancing over at the other vampire, Stefan noticed how weak Damon looked and worried over how it seemed as though the raven-haired man had not eaten fully in a while. He decided to voice his query.  
"Damon...when was the last time you fed?" Stefan asked, handing his roommate a glass before leaning against the bedpost. Damon grunted in response as they both looked a the bed, remembering last night's event. Their faces turned red, Damon glancing away nervously as he retreated back to his original spot, resting on the windowseat. Stefan watched, taking a sip of the blood. He licked a bit off the corner of his lip, conscious of the fact that Damon was watching him do so. He raised an eyebrow suggestively, licking his fangs. Damon blushed yet again, making Stefan even more certain (and turned on) that the other vampire had feelings for him. He smiled to himself, happy that he was finally affecting Damon.  
Who was, on the other hand, absolutely livid. This combination of embarrassment, lust, anger, and something else he couldn't quite place was completely foreign and anger-inducing to him. That Stefan was affecting him this way meant that the taller vampire won this little psychological mind game, and Damon just couldn't have that. Leaning his head back against the window decisively, Damon spread his legs wide as he stated directly into Stefan's fully-attentive eyes. Damon briefly remembered that originally he had not wanted to play these kinds of games, but that was before Stefan had started winning (slash getting these feelings to rise in Damon). He leaned back on his hands, picking his head up and sucking in his lower lip. He worked at it, licking and biting, until it was just right. He then released it, letting Stefan take in the sight of his swollen lowerlip, the blood from one of his bites slowly running down his jaw. Smirking at Stefan's obvious arousal, Damon returned to his original state, wiping the blood off with the corner of his sleeve, smugness practically oozing out of his sexy mouth. He had now won.  
Stefan kept staring at Damon, letting out a soft whine when Damon wiped away his blood. What a waste. Stefan would have followed that trail from Damon's chin, up his jawline and to those perfectly swollen lips, abusing them until -- Stefan closed his eyes, cursing a the tightness in his pants. He bet Damon would have no trouble taking care of that little problem. Stefan had to figuratively slap the bejeezus out of himself to get rid of that image. He looked over to Damon again, wondering how the other vampire could move from sexy to uninterested in two seconds. He shook his head, conceding that that was just what Damon did. He hid his emotions so he could always stay on top, never get hurt. And goddammit, why wouldn't this fucking boner go away?! Damon had quit with the antics a while ago, so why? Sighing, Stefan fell back onto Damon's bed, regretting it almost instantly once he realised how much easier it was to see his erection.  
Damon certainly noticed, not bothering to hold back his snort. Although he did feel a bit jealous. He wished his own How's-Your-Father was that big. He licked his lips, imagining what Stefan would look like minus the restricting pants. Oh, was that a...twinge down there? Damon looked down, checking to make sure. Yes, he had indeed become aroused, if only a bit. Still, he stared down at his suddenly-awakened penis, wondering what this could mean. He had never gotten a hard-on from just thinking about someone...he shook his head, struggling to come to terms with this little predicament. He looked up, but was surprised to find that his line of sight was impeded by a stylish t-shirt and vest. His gaze travelled up until he reached Stefan's eyes, his glance questioning.   
Stefan got on his knees so that his vision was in line with Damon's chest, before he grasped the other vampire's hands in his own. He looked up into those brilliant grey-blue eyes, his own gaze full of pure adoration. "Damon..." he said softly, pausing when the raven-haired man bit his lip, reveling in the crazy sexiness of that one gesture before continuing, "would you let me kiss you?"  
At those words Damon let out a gasp, looking down at Stefan in surprise. And this is where he would usually cut in with a stupid joke, something to ease the tension yet still let the man know that this would not happen. Yet...he didn't want to. He glanced away nervously, unsure. He felt bad, suddenly, thinking of Alaric. Sure, he'd spread his legs to get a rise out of Stefan, but that was only to win the game! While this...this was much more serious. A lot depended on his answer to Stefan's question. But, as he looked down into those beautiful hazel eyes, he could not quell the sudden ache to be as close to the vampire in front of him as possible. He felt a flush spread across his cheeks, and bit the inside of his mouth. Unable to keep silent, Damon made his choice.   
"Goddammit...all right, just kiss me," he let out with a sigh, hoping he could get through this by playing it cool. But, when Stefan's eyes danced with joy and he let out a low "thank you" before cupping his hands around Damon's face gently, almost reverently, the shorter vampire couldn't keep his moan of desire held in. And suddenly, Stefan's lips were on his, needy yet selfless a the same time. They both enjoyed the chaste closed-mouth kiss, Stefan's hands twining in Damon's sod tufts of hair as Damon leaned his palms on Stefan's chest. The kiss was soft, it was sweet, it was...soon turning PG-13.  
They couldn't hold back their need for each other, their hormones going insane as Stefan drew his tongue across Damon's firmly clasped lips, begging for entrance with darts into the crease of Damon's resolute smirk. Finally, lust won over pride, and as Stefan's tongue slid into his mouth, Damon knew that he would have a long, hard battle to face. His tongue blocked Stefan's, twisting when Stefan's wanted to turn and wrestling for dominance. Stefan grinned into their kiss, humored, yet unrelenting. He went a it with more force as their interesting little tongue-dance continued, until enough became enough. Using a sneak attack, Stefan's thumb ran over Damon's nipple lightly, issuing a gasp from the molested vampire. Using Damon's surprise to his advantage, Stefan quickly dominated the irate vampire's mouth, his tongue exploring the sweet, fleshy cavern with eagerness.  
He was disappointed when Damon drew away, his eyebrow raised and a frown on his face. "You sneaky little bastard! How dare you cheat like that?!" Damon let out, relinquishing his hold on Stefan and crossing his arms. Stefan just grinned, unrepentant. He knew Damon was just putting up a front, as usual. The other vampire had enjoyed that just as much as he had.  
Damon glared at Stefan's knowing smile, rolling his eyes at the brunet's smugness. So Stefan turned into a punk-ass bastard when he was turned on, who knew? Damon looked down to see if Stefan was indeed still sporting an erection, and was surprised to see a stain on the front of his jeans. He grinned. Now who had the right to be smug? Stefan looked down to where Damon was staring pointedly, and choked. Shit, when had that happened? He looked up at Damon, having the grace to look ashamed. "Well," he said, smiling, "it has been quite a while since I've been this turned on," he stated, realising how uncomfortable his jeans now felt. Damon laughed, pulling Stefan up.  
"All right, you go change and then, let's go to the grill and get a drink," he said, leading Stefan out of his room before he walked downstairs, deciding to wait for Stefan in the living room. Glancing down at his phone, Damon felt guilt wrack his frame again. He felt bad that he hadn't ended things with Alaric the correct way. Sighing, he told himself to make things right with the history teacher...tomorrow, he ended, as Stefan walked down the stairs, a fresh pair of jeans clinging to his frame in all the right places.


	8. A Snowfall Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Buddha, it's the fourteenth? Oh, how time flies. Well, sorry it's been a while since I last updated...my mother found out about my little...shall we say...recreational activities so it is now extremely hard to write my stories. Curse bad genetics and what-not. Well, enjoy! I particularly liked writing this one. And, I know, snow? Randomness in completion.

•*•*•*•

Their time was running out, he could sense it. Pulling his lover close, Damon ran a hand through the other vampire's hair, tugging at the part where strands ended and skin began. His lover let out a whimper, shoving Damon into the tree even harder. Damon let out a moan, sucking down his lover's neck, biting in a few places. Not hard enough to draw blood, but still leaving marks on his path down towards the other vampire's chest, drawing his legs around his lover's waist even tighter. Damon's head was pulled away, back up to his vampire's lips, before he let out a soft whine and stroked Stefan's face. Stefan reached for that sacred area, his hand so close—

Stefan's rather-realistic and boner-inducing dream was interrupted by the rough sound of curtains being thrown aside, as Damon jumped onto the bed and bounced giddily. "Hey…no need to be too alarmed, but…it's snowing," he let out, smiling widely as he pulled away Stefan's covers. "Come on, Dude, I wanna—" however Damon's sentence was going to end, we will never find out. And no, it's not just cuz I'm lazy. Staring down at the circumstance which had…arisen, if you catch my meaning, Damon smirked, unable to keep himself from commenting. And hey, who said he wanted to? "Ah…looks like there'll be a few extra weeks of winter," he snorted, jumping off the bed.

Stefan blushed, wondering if Damon had guessed where this particular erection had come from. Probably not. Stefan could hope. Getting out of bed slowly, Stefan walked up to Damon from behind, encircling his arms around the other vampire and just breathing in as he placed his face in the crook of his neck. "You know you like it," he whispered softly, his body pressed up to Damon's as close as it could. Damon cleared his throat a bit too much, before laughing, hoping Stefan wouldn't notice the short crack in it.

"'Ey, whatever, let's just go outside so I can beat you in the snow, huh?" he asked, moving away from Stefan as he tugged the bottom of his shirt down, smiling to Stefan before exiting the room. "Don't you dare go back to sleep!" he called out as he made his way towards his bedroom, "you have to get ready!"

Stefan smiled to himself at how utterly cute and irritating Damon could be, all at the same time. Shaking his head, he slowly pulled on the appropriate items of clothing, remembering yesterday. Ah, yeah, they'd had a great time at the grille, and thankfully, that bastard Alaric hadn't shown up. If he had…Stefan had no idea what he would have done. Probably none of it was legal. Sighing, Stefan threw a scarf around his neck before exiting his room, holding a pair of socks in his hands.

As he walked down the stairs, he smiled to himself, extremely grateful that the word "hangover" was only used in this house when talking about the awesome movie. Reaching the end of the stairs, he walked bare-footed towards the kitchen, where he heard Damon banging around. Stepping in, Stefan's heart almost leaped out of his chest. There, his raven hair mostly covered, stood Damon, the most adorable little beanie adorning his head, complete with a little fuzzball at the top. Stefan had to repress the urge to squeal. "Uh…what—" when his voice came out rather high-pitched, Stefan cleared his throat before continuing. "W-what are you doing wearing that?" he asked, glad for the extra-padded pants he was wearing.

Damon looked up from the cereal box he was perusing, frowning at Stefan's uncomfortable shuffling of his feet. "Uh…what, you mean the hat? Simple; my ears get cold easily. You should know this, we were brothers until a short while ago," Damon said, letting out a "psh" at the end, if only to add to the dramatic effect. Stefan grunted, leaning against the counter as he tried to think of unattractive things and also keep his eyesight away from any location of Damon's body. Amazing, that the vampire could look so sexy while covered from head to toe.

Damon squinted at Stefan's peculiar movements, before giving his roommate up as a lost cause. Shrugging, Damon placed the cereal back in the pantry, shutting the door with a bang for emphasis. "All right, Roomie, let's get the fuck out there!" he said around his huge grin, his eyes alight as he pulled the backdoor open.

"All right, wait, just lemme…" Stefan said, hopping as he tied his shoe. Reaching the doorframe, he leaned against it as he finished, only to immediately regret doing so. A pile of snow was thrown in his face, some reaching the inside of the house. "Aw, fuck, man!" Stefan cried, picking the snow off of himself as he searched for Damon in the wintery atmosphere.

Damon laughed, practically crowing, "Haha, dude, come on, don't be a chick," before another snowball hit Stefan in the chest. Grinning despite himself, Stefan bent down, hurriedly making his own snowball, but not fast enough. Another snowy missile landed on the back of his head, some of it sliding down Stefan's jacket. He hopped around, shimmying as he tried to escape the freezing wetness. Glaring at his assailant, Stefan threw his own snowball, landing a direct hit in Damon's face.

The amazing, epic Fight of Snowballs (as I am calling it, because I am just that awesome) continued on this way, before both sides finally called a truce, after a few fake ones of course. They eventually tired out, forgetting that even vampires could lose stamina. They fell onto their backs, staring up at the still-falling snow, their breath coming out in big puffs of see-through air. Stefan turned his head to the right, looking at Damon and grinning goofily. The other vampire turned his head as well, laughing at how stupid Stefan looked. After he finished, Damon looked at Stefan again, noticing how the brunet vampire had gone rather quiet. In fact, Stefan looked rather serious. He was wearing that look that Damon was getting rather used to, that, "I'm about to kiss the fuck out of you because I let my hormones lead my mind" look, the one that told Damon to brace himself. And brace himself he did.

Stefan pulled Damon on top of him, his hands encircling the raven-haired vampire's face as he sucked his lower lip, taking a small bite. He looked into Damon's eyes before carefully biting down harder, letting the warm liquid run along his mouth. He groaned into Damon's moan, sucking the blood in faster. Damon's eyes fluttered close, curiously blissful as his life-source was drained. He wondered if it was as great for the humans. Probably not.

Slowly, Damon started feeling a bit woozy. He pulled away from Stefan's greedy lips, smirking at the sad little whimper elicited from Stefan's mouth at the loss. He placed a hand on Stefan's cheek, staring down into those hazel eyes, content. He felt Stefan's hard-on poking into his leg and sighed. The damn kid's penis was worse than a thirty-one year old virgin's. Sighing, Damon rested his forehead on Stefan's, grinning. "Damn, Stefan, how many boners are you gonna have today?" he asked.

Stefan groaned at the feel of Damon's breath hitting his lips, feeling his nether regions respond to merely the thought of taking those lips captive again. He looked up at Damon, wincing a bit. "Well, that depends. Are you gonna stop acting so damn sexy all the time? You seriously make my penis hurt."

Despite himself, Damon let out a surprised laugh. "Dude, what are you talking about? I'm acting like my usual self. You're the one who can't seem to keep a lid on your hormones. Not that I'm complaining. I like seeing you all hot and bothered."

Stefan smirked up at Damon. "That's not all you like to see," he whispered flirtatiously, stealing a long kiss from the other vampire. They pulled away after a bit, both breathing hard.

"So, um," Stefan said, sucking in a breath as Damon habitually bit his lower lip, "how do you wanna do this?" he asked, his hands resting on Damon's hips.

Damon frowned, his forehead creasing. "Do what?" he responded, the cold air making his cheeks red. Or, rather, that's what he told himself.  
Stefan shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to continue. "You know…are we a couple or what?" he finally let out, his eyes looking away pointedly.

Damon also looked away, unable to keep the redness from spreading across his face even farther. "Um…a couple? Like, dating and promise rings and stuff?" he asked, unable to imagine that.

Stefan couldn't keep back his laugh. "No, stupid. At least, to the second part. Dates…now, those are nice," he said, staring up at Damon hopefully. Damon stared back, squinting his eyes, before rolling off of the other vampire.

"Well, Stefan…I don't know. How am I supposed to know if I'm ready for this or not?" he asked, unsure who he was posing this question to. Stefan? Himself? Buddha?

Stefan sat up, grabbing Damon's hands. "Look, I'm sorry, I don't mean to push this, it's just…I kinda like the sound of 'Hi, I'm Stefan, and this is my boyfriend, Damon,' you know?"

Damon looked up at Stefan, picturing it, and feeling his cheeks flush yet again. "Uh…I guess that wouldn't be so bad," he breathed, picturing it. Wondering if making their relationship official would ruin the bond they shared. Damon ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes. Something he looked forward to most (if they ever indeed made this official) was waking up in the morning with someone else in his bed. Not a random hussy from the street, but a regular, someone who knew a lot about him.

Damon looked at Stefan through the corner of his eyes, and slowly bit his lip. "Yeah…I think I would like that," he said, before widening his eyes. "Oh, shit, Alaric…guess I better tell him," he said to himself, scratching his chin.

Stefan's gaze had gone from euphoric to hangdog in two seconds flat. "Alaric? Why do you have to tell that whiney bitch?" he asked, his voice laced with jealousy.

Damon laughed, kissing Stefan's nose affectionately. "Seriously, you will totally be the girl in this relationship," he said, unable to keep himself from laughing even harder at Stefan's incredulous look.

"I most certainly will not! I'm taller, and therefore, I should be able to do you. That's how it is in all gay porn, and that's—"

"Wait," Damon interceded, giggles threatening to escape his mouth. "Gay porn? You watch gay porn? Dude, you watch porn?" he asked as he laughed.

Stefan pouted, looking away bashfully. "Well, you left me hanging with a ginormous boner only about five billion times, so I had to get rid of it somehow…" he trailed off, staring at Damon's amused smirk. "Look, now that you know this, I am definitely going to be on top."

"Whoa, there, Cowboy, slow down. If we're gonna be in a 'substantial relationship' or whatever, we can't just start it off having sex. Oh, no, my friend. If I'm gonna let your penis into my ass, I better have a hell of a good date. And it's not gonna happen on the first one either."

Stefan's expressions changed from disappointed to extremely turned on to quizzical in five seconds. He stared at Damon, his hand cupping his chin. "Well…I better hit the drawing boards, huh?" he asked, before laughing and grabbing Damon's hand, walking towards their house, content with this. At least, for now.

•*•*•*•


	9. In Which Damon Confronts Alaric

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just read it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3 I much enjoyed this one...hope you do too! ;D

Damon slowly stepped up the concrete steps, swelling up his courage as he drew eminently closer to his impending doom. He rested against the railing, bringing his hand up to cover his eyes. Goddammit, he did not want to go through with this. He knew that if he did, he'd have to live with the fact that he didn't have a best friend anymore. If you could even call their relationship that these days.

He drew in a deep breath, trying to think calming thoughts as he delved into his courage bank, applying for a generous loan. His mind wandered, turning to the most prominent person in his life.

[i]The room was icy cold, but he didn't feel a degree of it. He looked down at the arms encircling his waist, his shirt up just enough so that you could see half of his six-pack. He looked over at the hazel eyes just a few centimeters away from his, his tone sarcastic but his eyes vulnerable.

"So is this gonna happen often?" He asked, moving his eyes away from those hypnotizing orbs.

Stefan smiled beatifically, nuzzling his nose into Damon's neck. "I don't know. What will happen if it does?"

Damon looked back at Stefan, unable to hide his joy at being treated so affectionately. He cleared his throat. "You got me there," he whispered, barely audible.

I don't know if you guys have guessed, but they're in bed. I just never got around to putting that in, and now it's too late. Oh well. On with the story.

Stefan looked up at Damon, his chin still resting on the smaller vampire's shoulder. "Well, guess this will have to keep going on, if only to see where it will take us." He chuckled, moving his thumb across Damon's exposed flesh.

Damon drew in a breath, trying to contain his bliss yet failing epically. He just buried his face into Stefan's chest, unable to even speak.[/i]

Damon blushed at the memory of last night, realising that yes, it did calm him down. He pulled a hand through his hair, thinking of a different hand that had stroked it not too long ago. Smiling, Damon continued up the stairs, until he reached that apartment door. Clearing his throat, Damon knocked twice, then waited, resting against a wall, his arms crossed.

He counted out three seconds before he heard the latch pop open, the door swinging wide. He snapped his head up, looking into Alaric's red eyes. Damon couldn't tell if it was from alcohol, tears, or both. "Uh, hey," Damon said, awkwardly standing up straight and shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah…hi," Alaric responded, not moving from the doorframe.

"You uh, gonna let me in?" Damon asked, a small, hesitant smile crossing his lips.

"Debating…" Alaric said, scratching the back of his neck. He stood there for about a minute, his eyes staring fixedly into Damon's. Finally, he stood up straight. "Ah, hell, what the fuck. Come on in," he said eloquently, pushing the door open all the way and walking into the house, not waiting for Damon to follow.

Which he did, his eyesight following Alaric's feet as they crossed the living room to the couch, resting in front of the only armchair. Alaric sat, letting himself relax as he opened another bottle of beer, downing it before he spoke. "Okay, I already can tell by your expression that you decided I'm not worth your time." Alaric held up a hand to stop Damon's response, continuing as if he hadn't stopped. "If you wanna be with that pussy-foot little bastard, go ahead, I'm not stopping you. All I ask is this: at least come around my house once in a while, and never let the pussy-foot near me, or I may just have to stick a spike into his fucking heart."

Damon's eyes widened, chilled by Alaric's deathly tone and his uncaring eyes. He realised that he had caused Alaric's meltdown, and stared sadly at the man his once best friend had become. Alaric's eyes were sunken in, dark shadows surrounding them. He was wearing wrinkled clothes, much too big for him, and ratty old socks. He hadn't been to school for a week. As long as everyone was concerned, Alaric went AWOL.

Damon cleared his throat yet again, biting his lips. He looked at Alaric through his eyelashes, his heart pounding as he tried to think of a way to abate Alaric's anger. Nothing was coming to him at the moment, but he was sure something would. Eventually. Plans always had a way of forming themselves inside his brain. It was kinda like that scene in Alien, you know, where the alien baby just kinda popped out of the human's stomach?

Damon's internal craziness was interrupted when he felt a presence extremely close. He looked up in time to see Alaric crash onto him, lips going for whatever they could find, which turned out to be Damon's neck. "Alaric!" Damon nearly shrieked, his hands grabbing air as he told his brain to come up with a plan quickly. Sadly, it seemed as though the planning-committee was on a hiatus.

Growling frustratedly, Damon pushed Alaric back, trying to talk sense into the history teacher. Alaric just growled back, his hands freely roaming Damon's body as if he was a sack of potatoes. Damon spat out unintelligible words, his patience breaking when Alaric reached down into his pants. "Get the fuck off!" He roared, throwing the human across the room. Alaric hit the wall, crumpling into himself when he landed.

"Oh, fuck!" Damon whispered, immediately regretting his rash reaction. He rushed over to Alaric, his hands hovering over the prostrate body, wondering how he could help.

"Just…" Alaric whispered, his eyes streaming tears unabashedly, "just get out. Get the fuck out of my house, and never come back." He turned his back to Damon, rubbing his arms as if he were freezing.

Damon choked on a sob, his eyes blurring at Alaric's words. "N-no, yo-you said-said that you w-w-wanted me to v-v-visit," he choked out, his stutter resurfacing.

Alaric turned his head, glaring at Damon, his eyes burning hate. "I said. Get. The. Fuck. Out. NOW." He spat out, tears gone.

Damon stood up quickly, backing out of the room, the back of his hand covering his open mouth. "S-s-s-sorry-y," he whispered, before he left, quieter than the words he just spoke.

Alaric lay on his back and sighed, his hand covering his eyes. "And yes, ladies and gentlemen, my life can get worse," he said, chuckling a bit maniacally at his words.

~~~

Damon raced through the streets, so fast that he was only a violent gust of wind to passing pedestrians. His eyes leaked bitter tears, unable to get the image of Alaric's bruised body out of his mind. Oh, how he hated himself. He was the worst blight on the earth. It would be better if he just killed himself. Or…no, he wouldn't even think of the thought that passed quickly through his mind. He wouldn't turn off his emotions again. Not this time. He was stronger than that.

In no time he had reached his house, which he quickly entered. He ran to his bedroom, flinging himself on the bed. He looked over to his stash of alcohol, then winced. He didn't deserve a reprieve from the pain he was feeling. He knew whatever he felt, Alaric felt it ten times over. He flung his arm over his eyes, trying to block out any light. The tears kept coming as he searched for something, anything, which would atone for the pain he had caused Alaric, and the happiness he had found without him.

Then, suddenly, his planning-committee returned. Yes, Damon knew exactly what to do. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, which now had a light of determination. He had a plan.

~~~

Stefan opened the door to his and Damon's house, smelling the air. He sensed something…different, and he suspected it had to do with Damon. He dropped the special blood packets he had picked up, following his nose as he trailed Damon's most recent tracks. He walked down to the cellar, his eyes questioning as he came to the door he usually locked vampires in when they needed a "time-out". "Damon?" Stefan called, squinting into the darkness. He saw a darker shadow move, then watched as it walked slowly into the light.

"Stefan," Damon said, his eyes dilated fully, searching for a bit of light in the invading darkness.

Stefan drew in a breath, his eyebrows lowered as he studied his former brother. "What the fuck do you think you're doing in this hellhole?" He asked, his hands forming into fists as he smelled the stench coming off of Damon. "Never mind. I already know. That bastard Alaric made you feel like shit again, so you decided to punish yourself for doing the right thing."

Damon shook his head. "No, Stefan, you're wrong. I'm not in the right. Everywhere I go I cause irreparable damage to anyone in sight. It's better if I just wait out a couple of hundred years in here."

Stefan growled, gritting his teeth as he gripped the bars in front of his and Damon's faces. "Like hell. You're getting the fuck out of there. You don't cause any fucking damage. You're like, the one good thing in this entire world. You're the only one who can make me want to ignore my vampire instincts. When I see you, I want to be better, just so I can feel adequate enough to stay next to you. I fucking love you, you dumb fuck!"

Damon's face crumpled as tears began to appear, racing down his blushing cheeks. "Godammit, I wish you would stop saying such embarrassing things," Damon said, rubbing away at his eyes with the heel of his hand.

Stefan smiled grimly, reaching a hand through the bars to wipe away some of Damon's flooding tears. "Get out of there," he whispered, his lips hovering over Damon's forehead.

Damon only shook his head as more tears streamed down his face, closing his eyes. "You didn't see him, Stefan. You didn't see the way he looked at me. I caused him to become so hateful. I made him angry." He took in a shaky breath, his eyes narrowing. "And now, I've become this stupid cry baby. It's all too much; everything's happening so fast. First we're brothers, then we're not, then you love me, then Alaric loves me, then I love you, then I ruin Alaric's life! What's next, I'm gonna cause World War Three?" Damon lifted his head, his eyes determined. "I'm not gonna cause anyone any more pain. I'm through." Damon's tone had a ring of finality in it as he slowly started backing away, his eyes determined.

Stefan stood, shocked. What the fuck? Damon thought he could just get away with this without Stefan putting up a fight? Stefan shook his head, his eyes equally determined. "Damon…" he said, his voice pleading and his eyes reassuring, "If you stay in there, you'll be causing me pain. How do you think I would feel, unable to hold you in my arms, or wrestle in the snow, or have terrible fights? Without you, my life is meaningless! I might as well kill myself," Stefan said, his arms crossed defiantly.

Damon's eyes widened, then narrowed. "You wouldn't," he hissed, walking up to the door.

Stefan smirked, his stance determined. "Oh, wouldn't I?" he responded, then his face broke into a grin. "The negative is in my hands," he said, laughing against the back of his hand.

And then, he was on his back, facing the ceiling. Damon was on top of him, pinning his arms to the ground. "If you do that, I will fucking desecrate your corpse," Damon ground out through his teeth, his face menacing.

Stefan stared up at Damon, his eyes wide. He watched as Damon's face yet again crumpled, a few tears escaping his eyes. "I would kill you again," he choked out, sitting back on Stefan's stomach as he brought his hands up to cover his leaking eyes.

Stefan's face softened, his eyes loving as he slowly pulled Damon down to his level, cradling the smaller vampire in his strong arms. "There's no fucking way I would kill myself if you're still here," he whispered into Damon's ear, stroking the hair next to it.

Damon sniffled, rubbing his runny nose against the collar of Stefan's shirt. "Goo-good," he stuttered out, his eyes shifting away. He wasn't comfortable with the amount of emotion he had showed today. Stefan had a way of fucking up his self-control. He again sat back on Stefan's chest, wiping at the remaining set of tears with the bottom of his shirt.

Stefan watched, eyes suddenly hungry at the sight of Damon's exposed flesh. He sat up, Damon sliding down into his lap as he licked at a tear Damon had missed. The accosted vampire shivered, leaning into Stefan's embrace. He bit into the taller vampire's ear, punishment for making him cry. Stefan groaned, his eyes closing as his need for Damon grew. He pulled back so he could look into Damon's eyes, wondering if Damon's need was as evident as his. Clearly. Once his question was answered, Stefan leaned in, planting a long, slow, delectable open-mouth kiss on Damon's waiting lips. Damon panted, his eyes closing as he let himself go, his hands fisting into Stefan's shir—

Diiiiinngggg doooonggggggg

The two vampires snapped up, their eyes searching as if awaking from a dream. Stefan sighed as the doorbell rang yet again. He leaned his head into Damon's chest, his eyes closing in consternation. "To be continued," he whispered against Damon's exposed collarbone. Damon shivered, scared of yet anticipating this promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That awkward moment when the doorbell rings... trollololololol!!!


	10. In Which We Find Out Who is At the Door

The moment was awkward, to say the least. Damon sat atop the kitchen island, his legs open wide as he swung them against the cabinets underneath, making sure the noise wasn't loud enough to block out the sounds coming from the living room. A glass of whiskey rested in his right hand, which, for now, rested on his thigh. His left hand was supporting him, until he let it slide out from under him. His body hit the hard counter, causing a wince to escape his lips. To drown out the momentary pain, he tipped his cup, alcohol waterfalling out of it and into his awaiting opened mouth. A loud noise caused his attention to return to the living room.

"What do you mean?"

Damon's eyes closed. He hadn't been paying close enough attention. He wondered how much Stefan had told her. Due to the fact that she wasn't in here, beating him with her fists, he figured his former brother had not dispelled the full truth. Good. He didn't like how crazy her temper could get.

After the doorbell had interrupted their little sexy goodness, Damon had ran to the bathroom to rub off any remnants of tears or…other liquids. How would she feel if she saw Stefan's saliva all over Damon?

He'd kept one ear open the whole time, and when he had finished cleaning up, he decided it was definitely not the time to make his appearance known. So, he'd slunk off to the kitchen, where he now waited, acting like the total home-wrecking whore that he was. He rubbed his hand across his face, wondering exactly why he was even still here. Obviously, Stefan would come to his senses and drop his ass. Why not? Elena was a much better choice than he.

Damon suddenly sat up, alerted by how…quiet it had gotten. His eyes moved from right to left, over and over. He was tempted to sneak his head around the corner and find out what exactly it was that had made them go silent. But then again, what if what he found wasn't what he wanted? Would he have the strength to let go? To leave, let Stefan and Elena be together?

Damon took in a shaky breath, wounded just thinking of leaving Stefan. No, he couldn't bear it. He could shove his feelings aside, even let them conjoin in marital bliss if they wanted. As long as Damon could still be next to Stefan, still touch him, even if it wasn't sexual, he would do it. Anything to stay with Stefan.

He cleared his throat, floored by how strong his feelings were. How strong his need for Stefan was. Damon ran a hand through his hair as he bit his lip, closing his eyes. Goddamn fucking vampire. Making him feel this way.

Damon slammed his hand against the counter decisively, pushing himself off of it with much more strength than necessary. His legs skittered, forcing him to grab onto the counter he had just recently left. He glared at it, accepting the irony, if a bit glumly.

He downed his glass, slamming it down before he stalked towards that door, a determined grimace on his face. Might as well get the shit over with, so Stefan could kick him out and he and Elena could settle in as tenants.

He pushed the door open, leaning his head around it so he could get a good look, his eyebrows so low he could barely see. What he could find throughout the short black hair put him at a standstill.

It was worse than he expected. There she was, straddling his hips, hugging him with all the strength she had, her lips all over his. His hands were limp on the couch, his legs spread wide to accommodate Elena's weight. Damon couldn't see Stefan's face, but he scribbled the rest into his unbelieving mind with a dull Crayola crayon.

He couldn't breathe. It was one thing in theory, but a whole other story to see your boyfriend making out with someone who was obviously better for him. Damon's chest felt as though it had been split open due to some sort of torture. He was an organ donor. Doctors were taking out his body parts to send to people who actually needed them. He couldn't speak, but he could feel. All of his organs were being removed, one by one, until only his eyes were left. He slumped against the wall, unable to tear them away from the two.

All this happened in seconds, but it felt like years to Damon. His whole body was motionless; the only thing keeping it from tipping over was the wall he was leaning on. Still, the only things functionable were his eyes.

They followed Stefan's movements as the taller vampire suddenly found life in his limbs, pushing the brunette away. "No. No, Elena. I told you. I don't love you. Please, just leave me. Get on with your life. Find someone who can actually take care of you."

"No!" This exclamation from Elena came as a surprisingly loud shriek. She buried her face in his neck, her arms locked around it as well. "I know you're trying to protect me from something; just tell me! I know we can fight it together Stefan, I know it!" She pulled away from him, just far enough that they could look into each other's eyes.

Stefan gently tugged her hands away, his patience wearing thin. He could sense Damon's desperation, and the only thing he wanted to do right now was enfold the other vampire in his arms and show Damon that he was the only one Stefan could possibly love. Fucking Elena. "Seriously, Elena. There's no threats, nothing that could possibly put you in danger. I just…don't love you. I-I don't think I ever loved you, really. There's…" Stefan hesitated, wondering if he should tell her the whole truth. Wondering if she would even understand. He sighed. She deserved the truth. "There's something I need to tell you."

Elena sat up straight, hearing the seriousness in his words. She pulled herself off of Stefan, moving to sit as close to his side as possible.

"Um…" Stefan started, not knowing how to go about this. How do you tell your ex-girlfriend that you're in love with a man who everyone thought was your brother until recently? He swallowed. He didn't even know how she'd react when she found out he was gay. Oh, god, what a strange, awkward conversation this would become. He decided to just get to it.

"Damon…he's not what you think he is."

Elena blinked. Obviously, she had not been expecting the darker-haired vampire's name to come up. Her eyes narrowed, wondering where this was going. Stefan held up a hand, signaling to her that it would be best if she just stayed quiet during this whole debauchery.

"When we were still human, I found out a secret. Something our parents, friends, the whole town tried to keep hidden from us. I overheard our parents talking, arguing actually. Arguing about Damon.

"My father was complaining about Damon, saying he was a burden and all that. That's when my mother got mad. She said…she said that it was terrible for my father to say anything about Damon, considering what his father did for us all."

Stefan stopped, letting it sink in. Elena stared up at him confusedly at first, totally not getting it. You could practically see the thoughts forming through her head. Her eyes suddenly narrowed when a few sentences connected. She screwed up her face, concentrating hard on connecting the dots. Finally, she let out a surprised gasp. "Wait…so your mom had an affair with someone else, who's Damon's father? You're half-brothers?"

Stefan had to restrain himself from shaking the girl. "Uh, no," he said, shifting his position so that he was further from Elena. "Damon's not my half-brother. He's not my brother at all. His family…they were all killed. By a vampire. His family had helped mine when no one else would, so…needless to say, Damon, the only survivor, came to live with us."

Elena sat, mouth agape. "W-whuh? Huh? What?" was all that could escape her lips for now.

Stefan nodded. But he wasn't finished. He laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, quickly taking it back when Elena calmed down enough to look at him suggestively. He repressed the urge to shudder; once you get a taste Damon you never want anything else.

He shifted in his seat again, positioning himself as far away from the girl as possible. "See, I had feelings for Damon, kind of ever since I first saw him. I'd never been able to really own up to them until I heard the truth. But by then, it was too late. We were vampires.

"But now…I can't suppress my feelings for Damon any longer. It's…just too hard." Stefan looked into Elena's eyes, an expression of absolute bliss on his face. "I love him, Elena. I just…I love him so much. And, unbelievably, he loves me too."

Stefan's blissed out interlude was interrupted by a slap to the face. Literally.

"I-I…I can't believe you would do this to me! Here I was, thinking I had found the love of my life, and it turns out he never loved me? And, in fact, he's in love with another vampire, who everyone thought was his brother until just now? How the hell could I accept this? I turned my boyfriend gay!"

Stefan was tempted to point out that he'd mentioned he'd been in love with Damon since the beginning, but he could tell that would earn him another slap to the face, along with more pain for Elena, both physically and mentally. He kept his mouth shut as Elena pummeled him with her fists, just getting more frustrated when his wounds healed almost instantly. She let out an enraged growl as she scratched at Stefan's face, his arms, his chest. Anything to make him feel even some of the torturous agony she was feeling.

They were both surprised when the attack suddenly ended. Elena looked down at her arms, which were held in a soft but firm grasp. She let her gaze travel up to Damon's face, which was serious yet empathetic at the same time.

"Elena…" is what trailed out of Damon's mouth, his voice full of grief, "Elena…stop it. You're much too good for this. You know you don't want to hurt Stefan. You love him."

Tears sprang from Elena's eyes and gasping sobs escaped from her lips. She threw her arms around the raven-haired vampire, digging her face in Damon's neck. "D-Damon…" She cried, unable to say anything else for the time being. Damon stroked her back soothingly, resting his head on hers. He looked across at Stefan, his face unreadable.

Stefan watched as his boyfriend did what he should have done, should have thought of. Elena deserved more than he'd given her. He sighed, scratching his face in frustration. It was just…everyone else in the entire world was nowhere near important as Damon. When it came to Damon, Stefan was useless. The only thing he could do was bask in his love's beauty.

They all stayed like that for a while until Elena's uncomfortable seating position became apparent to her. She slowly pulled away from the raven-haired vampire's embrace, wiping at her eyes with Damon's available shirt. Stefan couldn't control the low, possessive growl that escaped from him. He couldn't help it; when other people touched his man, things got personal.

Damon coughed, trying to cover up the other vampire's blunder. He widened his eyes at Stefan in warning. Elena looked up at Damon, smiling sadly. He wasn't fooling anyone.

Elena took in a shaky breath, clenching her fists. "I…I think I'll go home now," she said, rising from the couch. She winced, her joints stiff from staying in one position for too long. She watched as the two vampires rose with her, walking her to the door. Stefan tried to reach in for a hug, but she firmly rejected him. "I-I don't think I could handle that right now. Thanks, though," she said, her voice a bit weak but her eyes portraying how strong she could be.

Stefan smiled, accepting her statement with a nod. Elena nodded back, before turning to Damon. "Now…I know I should hate you, but goddammit, I can't. I'll…I could never hate you." She quickly kissed Damon on the cheek before turning and leaving the house without another word.

Damon stared at the now closed door, his mind unable to process the events. Until recently, he had believed that Stefan would most definitely leave him for Elena. Instead, he told her the truth. All of it. Damon turned to Stefan, a disbelieving look on his face. "Why the fuck did you reject her?"

Stefan stared at Damon, not quite understanding how Damon could ask such a stupid-ass question. "Um…I don't know if it was your stunt double this whole time, but there is the fact that I told him I loved him and he said he loved me too…anything ringing a bell? Did he fill you in?"

Damon just stared at Stefan, a look of distaste on his face. "Really? About a hundred years we've been alive, and you pick today to learn sarcasm?"

Stefan grinned down at the shorter vampire haughtily. "Well, how do you know I didn't learn it a long time ago? Maybe I just never used it; it's like my secret weapon."

Damon gave Stefan the stinkeye, turning away from him and walking away. "Well, you have fun with your 'secret weapon;' I'm gonna go take a nap. I'm really tired."

Stefan walked up behind Damon, encircling his arms around the shorter vampire's waist. "Can I go too?" he asked, his lips hovering over Damon's neck.

The raven-haired vampire sank into Stefan's grasp, his eyes closed. "I'd kill you if you didn't," he whispered, hugging Stefan's arms to himself.


	11. In Which Damon Does Some Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww...Chal...your comment made me wanna update. I'm so happy that at least one person cared enough to ask me to continue...Jeez. Thanks, this chapter's dedicated to you. <3

People were whispering.

“Do you see his face? If looks could kill…”

“How could such an attractive man look so scary?”

“Shh! He’s glaring at us!”

Damon growled, only furthering the growing cacophony of voices emitted from the startled customers. Words could not express Damon’s unhappiness with his task at hand.

He hadn’t wanted to come to the grocer. What was the point, anyway? He and Stefan were vampires, and basically no humans stopped by their house ever since Elena found out about the two…

Damon’s expression softened for a few seconds, thinking back over that event. Did it only happen two weeks ago? Elena had been so distraught over Stefan’s abrupt declaration of his and Damon’s love…and rightfully so, Damon thought to himself, his lip curling and any hint of softness expelled from his face. Goddamn vampire and his inability to understand tact. Damon sighed to himself. That event had him up at night, wondering if Stefan really had outed them.

Pushing the grocery cart further, Damon kneaded his temples, his gaze terrifying. A woman instinctually pulled her child closer, hugging her to her chest as Damon passed by. He gave her the stink-eye before looking back down at the list Stefan had proffered, narrowing his eyes. “Now just what the hell are ‘Fruit Roll-ups’?” Damon asked himself, muttering obscenities as he searched the pastry aisle in a vain attempt. Why would he know what kind of food people processed these days? As was stated before, he had no need for this type of nutritional substance.

Again, Damon cursed at Stefan’s name. This had come as a surprise to him; one second he was pouring himself a shot of brandy and the next, Damon was off buying random items such as “Twinkies” that would just rot inside their shelves and stink the house up. Stefan’s excuse for the whole ordeal was, “You never know what you might need.”

“Stupid fuck. If you want some food, you go out and get it yourself for fuck’s sake!” Damon exclaimed in a mutter, startling a passing mother. She glared at him, her gaze righteously indignant as she covered her child’s ears. Damon sighed, leaning on the shopping cart. Well, this was great. Only five minutes in the store and he’d already managed to taint a kid’s ears with profanity. Fantastic.

Pushing his cart forward again, Damon kept muttering to himself, searching for the ever-elusive “Fruit Roll-ups”.

Suddenly, Damon’s cart rammed into another. Startled, an unwarranted apology sprung to his lips. “Oh, so—“

His eyes widened when he saw to whom he was addressing. “Ri…Alaric,” Damon gasped out, stopping himself before he addressed Alaric with the usual euphemism.

Alaric, his expression equally surprised, dropped the item he had been looking at. It fell to the floor, forgotten by the History teacher. “Damon…” Alaric responded in kind, fingering the shopping cart’s handle.

The two stood in awkward silence for a while, Damon biting his lip nervously. Jesus, what do you say in this situation? Damon could say with almost certainty that such a situation as this had never risen among other people. Nowhere had he read of people dealing with this kind of circumstance. So where could he draw his information from? Who could he learn from? No one.

Alaric was also faced with a quandary. Damon, the man he loved, the man who had spurned his advances, the man he had turned out of his home…Damon was here, in the flesh. Alaric had known that he would have to see Damon at some point, but he didn’t think it would be so soon. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even know how he felt about everything, never mind the fact that he hadn’t eaten in the past couple of days. Which brought this whole thing into play. He hadn’t had any food in his house, so he’d stopped by the store to grab some instant noodles and such. Speaking of…

Alaric bent, picked up the previously forgotten noodles, and placed them in his cart, all the while avoiding eye contact with the flustered vampire in front of him. He then stood up straight, his head turned to the side as he tried to come up with something to say.

This awkward little interlude would probably have lasted forever, had the customers behind both of them not started griping at them to start moving. Blushing, Damon moved forward and Alaric moved backward, moving off to the side so they wouldn’t be blocking anyone. They looked up at each other, embarrassed smiles on their faces.

“I’m sorr—“

“I didn’t mean—“

They both spoke at the same time. They stopped, breaking out into laughter. The moment was just too awkward not to do something, and Damon figured tearing out of the store wouldn’t be very productive. He gestured to Alaric, hoping the teacher would understand to go ahead first.

Alaric nodded. Clearing his throat, he leaned against his cart, gathering his thoughts. Just this little exchange meant that he and Damon could get over the little rough patch; something would change as they slowly returned to their friendship.

“Damon, I was a stupid little bitch.” Damon’s eyes widened when he heard this, frowning at Alaric’s self-deprecating tone. Alaric held up his hand, signaling to Damon to let him finish. “No, no, I was, I’ll admit it. I didn’t think of you when I said those hurtful things. I was in pain because the man I love doesn’t love me back, but that didn’t give me the right to hurt you for your feelings. I know you can’t control them. So…I’m sorry. Really, really sorry. If I can’t have your love, I at least want your friendship. Could…could you ever forgive me?” Alaric ended his statement with a sad half-smile, his eyes pleading.

Damon clutched his cart's handle for support. "You really are stupid..." He muttered, much to the chagrin of Alaric. Damon looked up, a large grin on his face. "You're stupid to think that I would be mad at you. I don't think anything that you did was wrong. It was my fault, really. I led you on, making you think I was committed to a serious relationship with you when we...you know..." Damon trailed off, not wanting to state the obvious.

"Jumped each other's bones," Alaric finished for him, smiling widely.

"Exactly," Damon replied, having the decency to wear a sheepish grin. "Anyway, it just got out of hand after that and you were dragged into this mess. So I should be the one apologising, not you."

Alaric smiled. "Well, I forgive you as long as you forgive me."

Damon's beautific grin in response would have subdued Hitler. "Well, now that that's all done with, can you help me with some of my grocery shopping?"

His instinctual teaching skills popping up, Alaric stepped closer to Damon, cupping his chin in his hand. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Can you tell me what the fuck a 'Fruit Roll-up’ is?"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Damon walked up the front yard of his house, his mood much cheerier than when he left it. His encounter with Alaric had definitely lifted him up, now that he had his best friend back.

He was practically skipping as he made his way up to the door, whistling randomly as he unlocked it. The whistle died on his lips and his feelings sunk to a new low as he saw what was waiting for him.

Everyone was there. Everyone who could claim Stefan as a friend and Damon as either a blood-sucking murderer or just plain blood-sucker. The grocery bags fell from Damon's limp hands to the floor as he studied each and every one of them, as they stared right back.

There was Matt, the jock whose sister Damon killed. Yep, he was definitely sending Damon the ol' death glare, his arms crossed in the way that stated that he wanted to seem extremely tough. Damon resisted the urge to snigger, his eyes moving onto his next subject.

There was Jeremy, past that awkward Pay Attention to Me I'm a Drug-Addict stage and into Pay Attention to Me I'm a Brooding Artist. The kid had second-hand Freudian texts and latte-sipping "art" discussions written all over him. Well, at least the kid had talent. What had Damon done to him? Oh yeah, stole his memory and aided in breaking his sister's heart. Damon ignored the clenching guilt in his gut and carried on.

Tyler, that werewolf sex-monkey whose uncle Damon killed. Well, the stupid cunt had been asking for it. Feeding Damon that vervain-tainted lemonade. Damon's mouth screwed up at the memory. He shook his head. Best not to meditate on his past blunders.

Then Caroline, who was hanging onto Tyler's arm. Now Damon kind of felt bad about the way he'd first treated the blonde when he came to Mystic Falls. He had a feeling he'd tainted her beyond repair. But, she seemed to move on, being with Tyler and all. Damon hoped so. He didn't know how many more death wishers he could stand right now.

Then there was Bonnie, who had always been wary of him. It seemed she couldn't stand the sight of him, and only put up with him when she had to. She was glaring at him with an ethereal force, her eyebrows raised in rage. A sharp shock of pain hit Damon then, almost incapacitating him. He withstood it, though, leaning against a nearby table for support as the pain became almost unbearable. She finally let up when an irrepressible moan in pain elicited from Damon's trembling lips, her glance clearly unsatisfied. She was extremely pissed off at the way he had ruined Elena's life.

Sucking in a much-needed breath, Damon looked away from Bonnie, before she decided to hurt him again. He didn't know if he'd be able to withstand it this time. Turning to the last guest, Damon's eyes flickered down in guilt and sadness. Yes, there she was, smiling, yet looking sad all the same. Poor, poor Elena. As their eyes met, a flicker of torture passed through her gaze, immediately covered up as she crinkled her eyes and smiled warmly. The fact that she was willing to put up with this with a brave face spoke wonders of her. Damon returned the smile, hesitantly at first, but it grew as he gained more courage. He was about to step up to her, when Stefan whisked through the doorway.

"There you are. I was beginning to think you'd lost yourself in the wonderful world of produce," Stefan said, grabbing most of the grocery bags and returning to the kitchen before Damon could respond. He picked up the rest of the bags, looking back over his shoulder at all the people before following Stefan into the kitchen. Making sure the door was firmly shut, Damon whirled around.

"Why the fuck are half the inhabitants of Mystic Falls in our living room?" Damon whisper-yelled, his tone betraying the panicked feelings that were roiling around in his belly.

Stefan just tutted, sifting some flour into a measuring bowl. "Oh calm down, Drama Queen. I just decided that since we're definitely going out and everybody knows, we might as well make it official with a dinner with all our--" catching Damon's look, Stefan amended, "my friends. Plus, this way we can talk about everything and get it all out in the open."

Damon's look of terror stopped Stefan in his tracks. "What? You wanna get a room full of people whose friend's heart we just broke to talk about it? We might as well put a stake in their hands and force them to drive it through our hearts!"

Stefan rolled his eyes at more of Damon's dramatics, taking a roasted chicken out of the oven. "Well, too bad. Now, help me serve this meal, then tell everyone to get up to the dinner table. If my cooking-skills are as good as I believe, they're gonna wanna eat my food."

Damon growled, grabbing a bunch of plates and bowls, carrying them waiter-style over to the table. He arranged them haphazardly, much to the chagrin of Stefan. "Housewife..." Damon muttered in Stefan's ear, his smirk clearly evident. Stefan encircled Damon's waist in his arms, nuzzling the shorter vampire's neck.

"Ooh, that would be a sexy role-playing game, huh Hubby?" Stefan whispered against Damon's tense neck, reveling in the shiver elicited from the statement.

"You perv..." Damon whispered half-heartedly, drinking in the smell of Stefan, "why don't you keep it in your pants while we have company, huh?"

Stefan groaned. "Shit, I forgot about them. Go get them, I'll finish serving the food...since you suck at it anyway," Stefan said, the last added as an afterthought.

"That's not all I suck," Damon said through his smirk, leaving Stefan with a gaping mouth and a twinging penis. Pushing through the door, Damon spoke his first words to the assembled group. "Uh, food's ready, so, yeah, go get some," Damon said, his movements awkward as he retreated back into the kitchen, not looking back to see how the teenagers reacted.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, this dinner was the most painful experience Damon had ever been put through, and you know just how many painful instances Damon had experienced. The fact that he hadn’t bolted out of this place after they all sat down was even more unbelievable than Kesha pretending to be a virgin.

Yet, here he was, in the undying flesh, slouched at the table, his mood overbearingly downcast. More than half of the table’s inhabitants were glaring at him, and the others were pointedly avoiding him. The only one paying nice attention to him was Stefan, holding his hand under the table for some much-needed support. Stefan stroked his thumb against Damon’s trembling fist, trying to calm him down. He knew just how much guilt Damon felt over Elena, and he had hoped this dinner would help all of them get over it. So much for that idea.

Clearing his throat, Stefan prepared himself to speak. “Well, guys, I know you don’t exactly find Damon and I to be at the top of your Facebook friends list, but…uh…” He trailed off at the intense dislike he felt roiling off of the teenagers, their expressions deadly enough to stop his train of thought. He sunk back in his chair, clutching Damon’s hand more earnestly as he tried to quell his sudden fear. Who knew teenagers could be so terrifying?

“All right, this is getting out of hand.” Everyone’s heads snapped to the left side of the table where Elena sat, incensed. “The only person here who has the right to be angry with Damon and Stefan is me, and I’m not.” At this, Damon raised his eyebrows. Elena just smiled, before continuing. “It’s true, I’m not mad. I’m sad, extremely so, but it’s nothing I can’t get over. I’m only seventeen for Christ’s sake; I’ll be able to find someone else in this lifetime. So, seriously guys, leave them alone. They’ve lived much longer than us, so they really do know love when they see it, and it’s obvious that theirs is the real deal.” Elena finished with a small, hesitant smile in the two vampires’ directions, before she sat back in a huff, glad that she’d said her piece.

Everyone at the table sat there in amazed confusion for a second, looking at each other awkwardly. Finally, the silence was broken. “So, these green beans, they’re really good…” Jeremy said to no one. The whole table broke out in relieved laughter, and from there a bunch of conversations started, mostly mundane high school shit.

Damon snuck a glance over at Elena, smiling at the nod she sent his way. “Thank you,” he mouthed, his gaze grateful.

Elena returned it with a warm smile, mouthing, “You owe me.”

The two shared a laugh, before turning away from each other, Elena to speak with Bonnie, Damon to respond to a question he’d been asked by Jeremy.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, after the guests had left and the leftover food had been thrown out, Damon and Stefan relaxed together in bed, stretched out and spooning. “Jesus, at first I thought we’d be stoned or something,” Damon declared, yawning despite himself.

“Yeah, I thought you were over-exaggerating when you started whining about them,” Stefan responded, pulling Damon closer in his arms.

Damon glared at the taller vampire, offended. “Hey, when do I ever over-exaggerate, huh?” He asked in a huff, crossing his arms.

Stefan just laughed, placing a kiss on the irate vampire’s forehead. “Well, other than the first part, it went well, didn’t it?” He asked, copying Damon’s habit and biting his lip.

Damon seemed to think it over. “Well, they all did seem to make it out of here without keeling over with food-sickness, so yeah, I’d say it went pretty well.”

“Hey!” Stefan cried out, nudging Damon. “I’ll have you know they all complimented me on my cooking. I’m so good, I could probably have my own cooking show. You know, I’m really handsome too so it would be a hit with all the ladies and gay men,” Stefan preened, his sometimes-egotistical nature creeping into the light.

“Ha, if you get a cooking show, you’ll spend the whole time looking in a mirror and burn your food,” Damon stated, laughing to himself.

“You!” Stefan exclaimed, pulling at the hair at the nape of Damon’s neck, delighting in the yelp it warranted. The two grappled for a few minutes, ending with Damon pinned under Stefan’s larger bulk.

“Ungh. Get off me, fat-ass,” Damon grit out, pushing against Stefan’s fingers, entwined in his own.

Stefan ignored Damon’s protests, licking a trail that started from Damon’s hip bone to his belly-button, up his abs, to his nipple, stopping to take a brief interlude with it, before continuing up to his collarbone, past his racing pulse, and stopping at his lips, quivering in anticipation. “You still want me to get off of you?” Stefan whispered, his voice low in want.

“Y-yeah,” Damon spoke around a swallow, panting despite himself.

“Wrong answer,” Stefan growled out, biting Damon’s ear in punishment. Damon moaned, biting his lip to stop himself from speaking something embarrassing. Stefan smiled against Damon’s neck, gently nibbling at a tiny space next to his racing pulse. “Sorry, did you want to say something?” Stefan asked, his grin extremely annoying to the smaller vampire.

“Just that you’re an asshole,” Damon said, tight-lipped.

“Really?” Stefan asked as he moved his head down, stopping at the raven-haired man’s nipple, breathing over it. “’Cuz, I thought it was something else,” he said, his tongue snaking out to play with the nipple underneath it.

Damon shut his mouth before he cried out, writhing underneath Stefan’s restraining arms. “Ste-Stefan, stop, ple-ase,” he bit out, unable to stop himself from moaning as Stefan’s tongue twirled in circles.

“Do you really want me to stop?” Stefan asked against Damon’s nipple, the vibrations against his sensitive skin forcing Damon to shudder.

Damon was silent for a minute, before finally responding. “…No,” he whispered, his eyes closed so he wouldn’t have to see how Stefan would take that embarrassing statement.

Stefan’s eyes widened, his mouth agape in wonder. He hadn’t thought he’d get Damon to speak so brazenly; he’d figured he’d tease his little vampire for a bit then he’d finally relent when that stutter managed to botch up his whole sentences, but this…this was unexpected. Stefan couldn’t repress the loving smile on his face, moving up so his lips were against Damon’s. “Was that so hard to say?” Stefan asked, his eyes crinkling.

Damon slowly opened his eyes, staring back at Stefan’s, his face turning a new shade of red. “You wouldn’t believe,” he muttered, looking away when the intensity grew to be too much for him.

Stefan smiled. “You know, if I hadn’t said that I would wait until we went on a date, I would be sticking my penis in you right now,” Stefan stated, rubbing his erection against Damon’s thigh for emphasis.

Damon groaned. “Good thing,” he stated, shutting his eyes again.

Stefan smiled, nuzzling into Damon’s neck. “Well, guess I’ll just have to poke my boner at you every time you’re about to fall asleep,” he said through his grin, laughing at Damon’s irate expression.

They kept talking for a while, mostly harmful insults escaping their lips, before Damon’s eyes finally shut, too exhausted to even finish the sentence he was saying. Stefan smiled lovingly, kissing his vampire’s nose before digging his face into Damon’s neck, drifting off to dream of what could have happened if they’d been on a date.


	12. In Which a Surprise Guest Appears

_The cold, hard pipe felt wrong in his hands. This wouldn't work. It wasn't an adequate enough weapon. He looked down at it, sighed, then hefted it onto his shoulders, his arms looped over the back. "So, why'dja bring me here?" He asked, his tone falsely nonchalant._

_"Oh, you know," a smooth, elegant voice stated, "felt like a nice night for a date." Footsteps echoed across the corridor, and Damon smiled, shifting his stance to a more easy-going one._

_"Date? Is that what you call it?" He asked, his heart jumping inside of his chest. This wasn't really a date. This wasn't what Damon had been promised. His smile faltered as the shadow stepped closer, almost reaching the light Damon was haloed in._

_"Close enough," the shadow said, a grin in its tone._

_Damon licked his lips, his breath coming in shallower as the shadow circled the light, its presence too close, oh so close. He closed his eyes, letting the lead pipe off of his shoulders, resting it on the ground and leaning on it, as if it were a cane. Finally, he sensed the shadow directly behind him, close enough to touch if it wanted. These days, it didn't really want to._

_"Oh, the things I could do to you," the shadow whispered, its tone low, haunting. It emitted a chuckle when Damon tried to step forward, a hand streaking out to stop Damon from moving. "Sorry,_ Little Brother _, but I can't let you do that." The shadow spun Damon around and there, standing with a predatory gaze and smile on his face, was Stefan, looking hauntingly similar to when he first became a vampire. Damon's heart, beating a mile a minute, was working overtime, so it seemed natural that a little color would be added to his face._

_"We…we're not brothers. We found out a while ago," Damon breathed out, his eyes down, unwilling to look at the man he had so recently called his boyfriend._

_Stefan's laugh was chillingly vacant of any humanity. "Oh, how gullible my brother is. You really thought you were adopted, didn't you? I made you commit the worst crime: incest. With your own brother, to boot. Poor, poor Damon." Stefan smiled, not a single trace of it reaching his eyes._

_Damon took in a gasping breath, his eyebrows creasing. "No. God, no, fucking goddammit, there is absolutely no fucking way that you're my broth—" Damon's response was interrupted when Stefan slammed his lips onto Damon's, pulling the smaller vampire closer by his forearms. Damon broke free from Stefan's lips enough to stutter out, "Nuh-no, Stef—" before his lips were captured again, and this time Stefan took no chances, slamming his brother into the wall, abusing his lips. Finally, when it seemed like Damon would soon be unable to function, Stefan rutted into Damon's hips, licking a trail from his collarbone, up his Adam's apple, and finally following the trail of a tear leaking from Damon's closed eyes, shut tight._

_Stefan finally released Damon's skin from his lips, resting his forehead on his brother's, chuckling. "Oh, Damon, you don't know how fun it was to tease you like that, make you feel as though you were special…" Stefan had to stop speaking, he was laughing so hard. "You…you actually—you actually thought that I—pff, loved you!" He burst out through his laughter, his body still keeping Damon from moving._

_He struggled, though, tears streaking down his cheeks. "Guh—goddammit, y-you ha-hate me s-s-so muh-much, just lea-eave muh-me aluh-lone!" He cried out through his sobs, racking his body and making him feel as though his body would burst from them._

_Stefan just chuckled, rubbing his nose against Damon's collarbone. "Oh, Brother, if only you knew…" he trailed off, his lips also rubbing against Damon's skin._

_"Alright, enough, get off of him. Leave some for me." The voice broke through Stefan's little show, and he growled, whipping his head around to show his snarling lips to the new voice._

_"Goddammit, I need more time," he growled, still not letting Damon go._

_"We had a deal, right?" The voice asked, its tone easy-going, sounding closer. Suddenly the voice grew menacing. "So you get the fuck off of him right now." It was a firm, lowered voice that dripped with menace._

_Snarling, Stefan still stepped back, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Ah, better," the voice cooed, and with that it stepped into the light. Damon's face took on a whole new form of terror when he saw who was standing in front of him._

_"Klaus…" He whispered, and with that, Klaus descended upon him._

Damon awoke from the vivid dream with a startled gasp, his heart racing, abusing his ribcage. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. He hadn't thought of Klaus in a while. Next to him, Stefan stirred in his sleep, scooching a little closer to the raven-haired vampire. Damon checked the vulnerable vampire out, still wondering if this were a part of the dream. Only one way to find out.

He ducked down, placing his lips on Stefan's neck, and sucked on the skin, hard. The larger vampire let out a growl in want, rubbing his sudden erection against Damon's leg and pulling the vampire's head up, so he could place his lips on Damon's, his actions much more gentle and loving than in Damon's dream. "Damon, who knew you liked to take advantage of people who sleep," Stefan mumbled, his eyes half-lidded, "I think they call that some kind of fetish."

"Shu-shut up," Damon replied, his efforts half-hearted. He was just too relieved that his dream wasn't reality. Discreetly, he swiped a hand across his face, taking care of the tears the dream had forced out of him. He turned to Stefan, smiling. "Just go to bed; I know you're tired." And with that, Damon turned and lay down on his side, his back facing Stefan. The vampire just smiled, placing his arm around Damon's bare waist, a bit lower than was appropriate, and snuggled his face into Damon's neck, back to that wet dream he'd been having.

* * *

"Haha, yeah, just like that," Damon spoke into his phone, leaning back in his chair. "Nah, that's okay, I'm not feeling like doing that much right now," he said in response to what the person on the other line said. He listened a few seconds, then said, "Yeah, I'm with him right now at the Grill. No, I haven't told him, I don't…think he's ready yet. Yeah, yeah, I know, we're in a 'relationship' or whatever. Dude, quit it, you're creeping me out." Suddenly, Damon heard a toilet flush. "Whoops, he's just finished in the bathroom, I'll talk to you later…Falcon. Jesus, these code-names are unbearable. Hah, yeah, whatever, see ya later." He quickly shut his phone as he saw the door to the bathroom open and Stefan stepping out.

The taller vampire quickly made his way over to Damon, sitting down gracefully. "So, who were you on the phone with?" Stefan asked "nonchalantly", looking away so it wouldn't seem like he was that interested.

Damon cleared his throat, taking a big sip of his beer. "Oh, no one," he said when he'd finished his gulp, swiping a hand across his mouth, "just…" He struggled to come up with someone feasible. No one was coming to mind. "A friend I made back when we weren't speaking to each other," he finished lamely, resting his upper arm across his chair, letting his forearm dangle against the back of it.

Stefan raised his eyebrow, taking a sip of his necessary water. Damn his stupidity and picking to be a high schooler. He sighed, leaning his forearms on the table. "Fine, you don't wanna tell me, I won't ask…then again, I have ways of finding out…if you catch my drift…"

Damon choked on his next sip, slamming his glass down and startling a nearby table. He ignored them, widening his eyes meaningfully at his boyfriend. Stefan just gave him a questioning look, unable to keep his amused smile off of his face. "You…you just don't talk about that kind of…stuff in a family establishment like that!" Damon explained in a whisper, whipping his head around to check if anyone had figured out what he was trying to say through that cryptic message.

Stefan chuckled, leaning even more forward, so he was half-way across the table. "Heh, well, this is technically a date," he said, whispering the last word.

Damon slapped Stefan's forearm, once more checking to see if anyone had heard him. Stefan sighed. "Seriously, the way you keep throwing you head around like that, people are going to start paying attention to us," Stefan stated, smiling at Damon's blush. Oh, how he loved to make his little vampire blush.

The romantic mood was ruined by a bunch of chairs plopping down at their table. "'Sup, Fags," Tyler stated, which was awarded with a big slap to his arm by Caroline. "What, it's true!" He cried in his defense, rubbing his arm sorely.

Damon widened his eyes, forcing himself to refrain from doing something a bit more violent than slapping the werewolf's stupid, fucking, irritating—

"Tyler, really, have a little sensitivity," Elena said, giving him a dirty look. He held his hands up, an innocent expression on his face.

Damon interrupted him from responding to Elena. "Uh, so, what exactly are you guys doing here?" He asked them, trying to keep his irritation out of his voice.

"We're here to check out how your first date's going," Jeremy spoke up, bumping his elbow against Damon's. "Hey, hah, look, our wenises touched," he stated, his inner teenage boy showing up randomly.

Stefan was already half-way out of his chair, a snarl on his lips. Damon sent a swift kick to his shin, rendering the other vampire motionless as he tried to contain his emotions. "Seriously, Jeremy, how old are you now?" Damon asked rhetorically, shoving the kid's shoulder. Jeremy just laughed, ordering some fries from Matt, who had popped up.

The two male vampires (since Caroline's here XD) shared a look across the table, both unhappy with the circumstances which had arisen. Elena caught that look, quickly interjecting, "Oh, don't worry, we won't be in your hair for long, we just thought we'd better see what you two were up to when we saw you," she said, a little pain flickering in her eyes as she let her gaze linger on Stefan, totally oblivious as he kept his full attention on Damon.

Shifting uncomfortably, Damon lamented the awkward situation which had arisen. The last thing he'd wanted to happen had happened. He bit his lip in anxiety, Stefan letting out a small whine that was inaudible to the humans, letting Damon know just how badly he wanted tonight to be the night that he made love to his boyfriend.

Giving Stefan a meaningful look, Damon turned away from him, turning to respond to another one of Tyler's biting gay jokes.

He laughed at something Jeremy said, then let his gaze drift away from the group, towards something which had caught his attention. In front of the window, a note was scrawled in the condensation:

_Amaranth,_

_Nice to see you again._

Damon's eyes closed as he heard that name bounce around in his mind, taunting him with memories that wanted to swamp him. "Dude, you got a head ache or something?" Jeremy's voice awoke Damon from his thoughts.

"Something like that…" He muttered. He stood up, looking towards Stefan. "I'm…gonna get some air. Too much…teenage shit here for my taste. I'll be back."

"Ah, who needs ya," Tyler let out, turning to steal a bite of Caroline's burger.

_'I'll be here for you if you need me,'_ Stefan mouthed, and Damon nodded, stepping out into the cold. Looking over towards the window, he noticed that it had been wiped clean. Blowing on his now-red hands, Damon stepped into an alley, towards the shadows where he knew what was waiting for him. "Klaus," he whispered, squinting his eyes as he searched in vain in the darkness. Suddenly, he was slammed up against the brick wall, hard.

"Hello, Amaranth," Klaus whispered into Damon's ear, his tongue snaking out to play with it. Damon shuddered, trying to break free from the powerful vampire's grip. "Oh, come, you really think you can escape from an Original?" Klaus asked, his tone amused as he bit down on a spot directly behind Damon's ear, hard enough to draw blood, of which he drank, relishing its taste. "I must say, your blood has not lost its delectable nature," Klaus whispered, "a sort of floral bouquet, mixed with a tint of spice…" He licked the trail of blood that had started to race down Damon's neck, resting his lips against the ear again. "Absolutely… _desirable_ ," he stated, rubbing his lips against Damon's Adam's apple.

"Enough, Klaus. Let me go, for fuck's sake," Damon growled out, gritting his teeth against his urges, threatening to yell out profanities. The only one he allowed to manhandle him these days was Stefan. He pushed vainly against Klaus' restraining arms, trying to see if there would be any give. Klaus just took Damon's hands in one of his, raising them above their heads and pinning them against the wall.

"Oh, come now, Amaranth, given our past, I thought you'd at least like a little taste of what used to be," Klaus growled out against Damon's cheek, his teeth raking across Damon's jaw in punishment. Damon growled out a few profanities, wishing he was strong enough to kill this goddamn nuisance.

A sound a little farther down the alley impeded any other actions. A drunk, stumbling girl came towards them, waving her arms maniacally. "Ah, hey, you two in the corner, are you makin' out or sumthin'?" She slurred out, a goofy grin on her face.

Damon's eyes widened at Klaus' cold smile. "Now, see what you've done? You've ruined our mood." In less than a second, he'd raced over to the girl, efficiently snapped her neck, and returned to Damon, back in their previous position. "You know how annoyed I can get," Klaus explained to Damon's horrified expression. "Please, you can't tell me you've grown a sort of conscience for these degenerates?" Klaus asked, this time his tone disbelieving.

"I don't believe that we have the right to take others' lives like that, if that's what you mean," Damon answered, his tone even, though his heart was racing.

Klaus shook his head, a sad look on his face. "Ah, what a waste. Looks as though the other Mr. Salvatore has turned you against the nature of the vampire, eh?" Klaus frowned at Damon's sudden flush, his gaze turning hard. He leaned closer, so his lips were centimeters away from Damon's. "Remember," he growled out, his lips brushing against Damon's as he spoke, "you're mine. You have been ever since I first took your blood. Ever since I killed anyone else who took interest in you. Ever since I fucked you." To accentuate his point, Klaus dug his fingernails into Damon's wrists, earning a wince.

"I'm not something that can be owned, you stupid fuck," Damon ground out through his teeth, almost regretting it when Klaus' free hand dug its fingernails into his hip bone. Snarling, Damon grit out, "Forgot how much you liked to use your nails," feeling his blood slide down his leg.

"Mm, we did have fun, didn't we?" Klaus asked, digging his fingernails in harder, a sort of relish in his actions. "You used to like it, too. Made you turn that special shade of red, that peculiar amaranth color. You blushed even harder every time I called you by that name," Klaus growled out, his voice low in want, caught up in memories.

Damon sucked in a breath, his eyebrows knitted together. "I remember, the first time I fucked you, you cried. You don't know how… _enticing_ that was. Made me want to make you cry harder…faster…oh, God, fucking _good_ ," Klaus ended, off in a different time, remembering things that Damon had tried to bury inside of himself.

"Come on, stop it," Damon snapped, trying to release his hands yet again. It seemed like Klaus couldn't hear, he just laid his head against Damon's collarbone, his eyes shut. Finally, he looked up, tears in his eyes.

"Why…why, Damon? Why did you leave?" His voice shaking, Klaus covered his shaking lips with a hand, digging his face into Damon's neck, encircling his arms around Damon's waist. "I…I thought you loved me. I never fucked you. I didn't think of it that way, at least. I made _love_ to you, Damon. That was the first time sex had a meaning to me, Damon. It was love, Damon. Love."

Damon gulped, his entire body shaking. "Klaus…" He trailed off, not knowing how he should begin. Hell, he didn't even really know anything right now. Only, that being in Klaus' embrace felt wrong. Everything in Damon's being cried out for Stefan, Stefan's arms, Stefan's heartbeat, Stefan.

As if he could read minds, Stefan's form stepped out, his head turning, searching for his boyfriend. "Damon?" He called out, his eyebrows furrowing when he smelled Damon's blood. He stepped forward, training his head around, his senses suddenly on alert.

Klaus stiffened, his head turning to watch Stefan walk closer to him and Damon. He snapped his head up, suddenly composed. He held Damon firmly against the wall and whispered into his ear, "In no way should you expect that this is over." And with that, he was gone.

"Damon?" Stefan called out again, this time closer. Damon stepped out of the shadows, his head lowered. "Oh, my god, what the fuck happened?!" Stefan cried, rushing to his vampire, holding Damon so he wouldn't suddenly lose his balance. "Come, on, tell me!" Stefan's urgent tones just made Damon feel guilty.

"Stefan…" Damon whispered, his head turned away, "Please. I just…need to get out of here. I'll explain later, just…please…" Stefan noticed how close to tears Damon was. Without another word, Stefan had Damon on his back and they were racing out of there, without letting the teenagers inside the grill know.

* * *

Stefan placed a cooling cloth on Damon's forehead, swiping at his cheeks and chin with an extra one. "Jesus, you've got vervaine in you," Stefan said in wonder, his gaze worried as he watched Damon writhe in pain, unconscious.

His head whipped toward the door as it opened, Jeremy, Caroline, and Elena stepping through the threshold. "So, this is why you guys left without a word yesterday," Caroline commented, stepping up to observe Damon's writhing.

Jeremy frowned, also stepping forward to Damon's side, placing a sympathetic hand on his arm. "Shit, man, looks like he's in pain," he commented, rubbing his hand over Damon's overheated one, trying to soothe him.

"If you could…please stop…" Stefan grit out through his teeth, not caring that Jeremy stared at him weirdly. Still, Jeremy removed his hand.

"Dude, you're really over-protective, huh?" Jeremy asked, his eyebrows raised.

"You could say that…" Stefan muttered, pushing Jeremy aside to swipe a wet cloth against the arm Jeremy had so recently been touching, almost as if cleansing it from him. Jeremy gave Stefan the stink-eye behind his back, walking over to a nearby chair and slumping in it.

"So, uh, what happened to him?" Elena asked, her gaze shifting from Damon to Stefan over and over again, always staying on Stefan for a longer time.

"I don't know," Stefan responded, his tone despairing, "he passed out the minute I got him here and he hasn't woken up since, except for a few times, but he just kinda babbles nonsense…" Stefan trailed off, digging his face into his hands.

The three nodded in unison, feeling sympathy for the taller vampire. It was obvious how concerned he was about Damon. Speaking of, he suddenly sat up, his eyes open but glazed. "Mmuh…no…I don't really like it when you use your fingernails," he whispered, much to the surprise and astonishment of the others. As quickly as he sat up, he flopped back down, turning on his side, his back facing the others. "I'm not…Amaranth…anymore…" He said, before drifting back to sleep.

"Shit, that scared the fuck out of me," Jeremy stated, sitting up in his chair. Caroline made a noise in agreement, stepping back from the bed.

Stefan closed his eyes in chagrin, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Look, you guys don't have to stay here, I'll call you if something happens," he said.

"Oh, no, that's fine, I wanna stay here and see if Damon gets better," Jeremy stated, smiling.

"I don't think you get what I mean," Stefan growled, "I'm trying to say as nicely as I can to get the fuck out of here," he stated, not really caring that all three of the teenagers looked offended.

"Well, fine then, we'll 'get the fuck out of here'," Jeremy responded, grabbing Elena's arm and motioning for Caroline to follow. "Come on, looks like Romeo here thinks he's the only one that cares about Damon," Jeremy stated, leaving the room without a backward glance.

Stefan sighed, rubbing his head with the heels of his hands. "God…fucking…dammit," Stefan let out in a breath, slamming his body down next to Damon, careful not to disturb the sleeping vampire in his tirade.

"Oh, Damon…what the fuck is going on?" He asked, his voice full of despair. Sighing, Stefan rested a protective arm around Damon's waist, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead before drifting off, thinking he would just take a nap for a few seconds before he took care of Damon again.

* * *

His eyelids fluttering, Damon slowly became lucid, searching hazily for something concrete on which he could focus. Stefan's face came into view, and Damon kept his gaze on that, until he could finally open his eyes fully. He noticed that Stefan was asleep, and they were in bed. He slowly sat up, feeling the blood rush to his head. He groaned at how sore his body felt, and he stretched, a yawn surfacing from his lips.

"Mmgh…huh?" Stefan said, Damon's movements startling him awake. When he noticed that Damon was finally awake, Stefan sat up quickly, grabbing his forearms. "You're awake? Finally?" Stefan asked, his eyes wide.

"Y-yeah, but you're kinda hurting me…" Damon responded, looking pointedly down at his entrapped arms.

"Oh, yeah…" Stefan said, not releasing Damon, but forcing his grip to be more gentle. He was just so excited. "Uh, so, you wanna tell me what happened to you to make you this way?" Stefan asked, kissing Damon's lips to make sure that he was really there.

Damon took in a deep breath, wondering how he should broach this topic. "Uh, I think I need a little blood in my system before I start explaining anything," Damon said, just now noticing how weak he felt.

Stefan shifted, anxious to hear what had done this to Damon, but also wanting to provide for his boyfriend. "Alright, fine, I'll carry you downstairs, and we can—"

"Hey, wait, who needs to be carried?!" Damon asked, astounded that Stefan would even say such a thing, knowing how picky Damon was about not being treated like a girl.

"You think you can walk?" Stefan asked, an eyebrow quirked.

"Hmph," was all Damon said, brushing aside the covers, placing his feet on the ground, and falling flat on his face.

"Oh, shit, you okay?!" Stefan cried out, jumping out of bed and picking Damon up gently, holding him bride-style.

His cheeks extremely red, Damon harrumphed. "Goddammit, just get me downstairs already. I wanna get out of this situation as quickly as possible."

Stefan smiled, placed a kiss on Damon's temple, and did as his little vampire wished, carrying him off to their living room.


	13. In Which They Go on a Date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Sup bitches.

They'd been sitting there for a while. Neither had said anything. Damon just gripped his glass of O-positive, nervously tapping a forefinger against the rim, while Stefan sat across from him, gripping his knees to try to contain himself and his excitement. Finally, when the silence became overbearing, Stefan couldn't help his outburst. "Alright, enough's enough, just tell me what happened!" He exclaimed, his eyes wide with worry.

Damon coughed, looking away. He knew how worried and anxious Stefan was; he just knew that there was no way he could relay the events of what had happened to him last night and not worry the bejesus out of him. Sighing, Damon tipped his head back and downed the glass, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He finally looked to Stefan, his eyes resigned. "Okay, I'll tell you…" Damon stated, slowly setting his glass on the table.

Stefan scooched forward on his chair, alert.

"Well, as you know, we were at the grill, drinking, before the kids showed up…" Damon hedged, fingering the edging on one of the pillows. Stefan cleared his throat, signaling Damon to continue. Damon sighed, clutching the pillow tighter. "Um, I was just laughing at something Jeremy said when I saw a note written on the condensation of the window outside. It said…'Nice to see you again, Amaranth'."

Damon looked to Stefan, like those words should have had the same meaning for him. Stefan just stared at Damon, a confused expression on his face.

Damon bit his lip. "Amaranth…is a kind of pet name that someone I knew gave me," Damon said, averting his eyes from Stefan's.

Stefan scooched even further across his chair. "And that would be…" Stefan supplied, hoping Damon would get the message.

"Um…the person who wrote that would be…Klaus," Damon let out, his tone hushed when he said the European's name.

Stefan, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of hushed. He jumped up from his seating, his chair tipping over. " _Klaus?!_ " Stefan cried, his tone disbelieving, "How the hell did he find you? Why does he have a nickname for you? _Why did you go see him?!_ "

Damon suddenly sat up, his eyes wild. "Why the hell shouldn't I have gone to see him? He obviously purposefully placed himself there; what if he was going to do something bad if I didn't go out there?!"

Stefan slumped, defeated. His face was crestfallen as he looked up at Damon, his eyes serious. "You care so little about yourself that you would go out there without warning me? You trust me so little that you wouldn't tell me what was going on?"

Damon flinched, then gained courage. "Of course! I've never been the one who got any support; no one ever trusted me! It's only you that anyone ever goes to, you're the only one anyone ever cares about! You're the only one _I_ care about! I've learned that most of the things I care about are taken from me; I wasn't going to let that happen! I can rely on myself; I've been doing it my entire life!" Damon ended in a rush, looking away from Stefan, his hands fisted at his sides.

Stefan stood there, his body limp for a second, processing all this information. Finally he gained life, stepping up to Damon to embrace him. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his tone forlorn, "I'd forgotten how independent you are. I know it's tough for you to let me in; I'm sorry I didn't think of that when I yelled at you. I just…you have to learn to trust me, Damon. We're in a relationship. We love each other. We have to tell each other everything."

Damon sighed, returning Stefan's hug. "I…know. But, it's hard for me to transition from being a loner to suddenly having a substantial relationship," Damon stated, breathing deeply.

The two vampires stayed that way for a while, just listening to each other's heartbeats, slowing with time. When they'd finally returned to normal, Stefan released Damon, placing a little kiss on his lips. "Sorry for yelling at you," Stefan whispered, a small smile on his face.

Damon smiled back. "Stop saying sorry," Damon replied.

"Sorry," Stefan said, warranting a gentle slap on his cheek from Damon. The two laughed before sitting back down, Stefan righting his chair. "Continue," Stefan ordered, crossing his arms, hoping they would restrain him.

Damon breathed in slowly, letting the air out in a rush. "Okay. So, before anything else happens, you should know something. Klaus and I…we were 'lovers,'" Damon stated, his face curling a little. He didn't like the way that word sounded. "Nah, scratch that, it was more like some weird primal thing we had going on," he amended, thinking back to those times. He looked up when he realised Stefan was curiously silent, and frowned when he saw the now-blanched Stefan, his body rigid and his mouth agape. Damon gazed quizzically at the stricken vampire. "What?" He asked.

Stefan's mouth moved, but sound wasn't emitting from it yet. He stared incredulously at Damon, looked away, stared at Damon again, then started waving his arms around. Damon scooched away in his chair, flustered. Finally, Stefan found his voice.

"Klaus…you…uh, lovers…sex? Klaus…Original…murderer… _sex? Gay sex?_ "

Damon flinched away from the other vampire, his eyes wide. "Jesus, Stefan, have a bit of tact!" He exclaimed, waving a hand over Stefan's glazed-over eyes.

Stefan grabbed Damon's hand, holding it steady as he stared deeply into Damon's eyes. "You're telling me," he said, trying to compose himself, "that not only were you in a relationship with Klaus, you also had sex with him?"

Damon tried to pull his hand away, but Stefan wouldn't let him. He squirmed in his seat, uncomfortable talking about the dark lifestyle he used to lead. "Well, you know, Stefan, I wasn't always this…agreeable," Damon commented, a little hesitant to bring up his past self. He knew how Stefan was abhorrent of some of the acts he'd committed.

Stefan nodded his head quickly, his expression still disbelieving. "Okay, okay, I'll let it process. You and Klaus had gay sex."

Damon closed his eyes to try to contain himself. "Would you stop saying gay sex!" He exclaimed, his tone exasperated.

Stefan finally released Damon's hand, sighing. "Alright, alright. It's just hard, getting this kind of information from your boyfriend." Stefan looked away, his expression hurt. "It's really sad when I think of it; not only did Klaus turn you into something you're not, he also took your butt-virginity."

Damon did a double-take. "My _what?!_ " He cried, choking on his spit.

Stefan sat back in his chair, crossing his arms and behaving like a child. "You know, he got to have sex with you before I did. _Gay—"_ At Damon's glare, Stefan amended his sentence, "Butt sex." Damon ran his hands through his hair, frustrated at Stefan's awkward references to homosexual relations.

"Can we just move on?" Damon asked, gritting his teeth.

Stefan dug his chin into his chest, frowning childishly. "Yeah, sure, fine, whatever."

Damon sighed, standing up. He crouched in front of Stefan's chair, taking the other vampire's hands in his. "Stefan, I love you, alright? Now would you please stop acting like a five year old?" Stefan's mouth involuntarily smiled at Damon's sentence; usually the other vampire refrained from anything too emotional.

"I…I guess I can let it go this time…since I'm obviously better at it than _Klaus,"_ Stefan responded, sitting up straight.

Damon walked back to his chair, shaking his head at Stefan's childish behavior. Really, his boyfriend needed to be checked out by a doctor or something. He sat down, resting his elbows on his knees and gripping his hands. "Uh, anyway, Klaus and I were together. It started way back, about the thirties, to be precise. He happened upon me and asked me to join him, something about 'Finding a better life in this world' or some bullshit. Anyway, that was about the time that I'd been following a lead on Katherine that turned out to be a bust, so I was really shattered and Klaus' invitation sounded like Christianity does to wayward kids these days," Damon said, looking off, remembering what once was.

He looked back to Stefan, his expression serious. "You know how wild I was back then. How little I cherished the lives of humans. I fed on them because I wanted to, because I thought they deserved it. It wasn't fair that they could live, eat, age, while I was stuck in the body of a nineteen year old. Or, whatever age I am, since I'm supposedly younger than you." Damon quirked an eyebrow, tilting his head.

Stefan shot his head up. "Hey, hey! I'm not lying; seriously, you're younger than me! I found something in one of Father's files and it said you're, like, seventeen or something. S'true."

Damon squinted his eyes. "Like, totally?" Damon asked, making fun of the inflections and language Stefan had learned from modern-day high school.

Stefan stuck his tongue out at Damon. "You know what I mean," he stated, harrumphing and sitting back in his chair again.

Damon laughed. "Well, anyway, I kind of took a sort of revenge on those people who I thought deserved it. Klaus noticed that and was drawn to my anger, I guess." Damon shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, scratching at his jaw.

"And?" Stefan asked, impatient.

Damon sighed. "I don't really want to relay the details of our time together; just trust me when I tell you it wasn't nice. It wasn't happy at all. It was full of a sort of desperation, both of us searching for something in the other that just wasn't there. After a time, I realised that, and left." Damon sat back, his arms limp by his sides. Stefan watched Damon, wondering if there was another motive behind Damon leaving. He decided to voice his query.

"So, uh…did you leave Klaus for another reason too?" Stefan asked, leaning forward. He was extremely interested in the past Damon had previously not allowed him to know of.

Damon scratched his ear, licking his lips. "Um, yeah, I guess…maybe I also left 'cuz I realised if I stayed any longer, I'd get trapped and I'd never be able to return. Usually, when you turn your feelings off, you can still feel the human inside of you if you search hard enough. I was starting to lose that feeling. So, you know, I left. Went back to devoting my life to ruining yours. You can see how well that turned out," Damon ended, smiling.

Stefan smirked. "Yeah, you're totally into me. You've been obsessed with me for a while, huh? Maybe the strangest thing is that I like you back," Stefan joked, and Damon smacked his forehead.

"You really wanna go there, Mr. _Dear Diary, feeling despondent today because Damon still has yet to notice that I want to jump his bones,"_ Damon responded, and Stefan flushed, looking away.

"Whatever," Stefan muttered. He realised Damon had won this little argument. But that didn't mean he was happy with it.

Damon cleared his throat, filling a glass of whiskey. "Well, anyway, I find the note on the condensation, I go outside, and Klaus is there in the shadows, and he's acting…strange."

"Strange how?" Stefan asked, quirking his eyebrows in interest.

"Oh, you know, he's just got this aura of misery around him. I didn't think my absence would affect him this much…he also seemed more powerful than before. He killed an innocent bystander in one second."

Stefan's mouth fell open, shocked. "Jesus…" He whispered. "You aren't kidding."

Damon shook his head. "He held me against the wall with only one hand. Then he bit all over my body, probably so the vervaine he had on his teeth would get in my blood system. I'm surprised that it didn't affect me when he first bit me…" Damon trailed off, wondering.

Stefan growled. "That damn bastard. Fucking asshole. He can't just go after you like that and take advantage of you!"

Damon smirked. "Dude, it's nice to know at least one person is concerned with preserving my honor."

"Not only that!" Stefan cried, his tone adamant, "The only one allowed to bite you or anything is me!"

Damon slapped Stefan's arm. "Seriously, man, you're way too possessive. Maybe watch a bit of _Barney_ so you can relearn 'Sharing is caring.'"

Stefan sighed. He got up, kneeling in front of Damon. "You have to promise me you'll tell me the next time Klaus shows up. Two vampires against an Original are definitely better than one." Stefan's expression was serious, but his lips trembled with worry.

Damon smiled gently, placing a kiss on Stefan's lips. "Don't worry. I promise you I'll be around for a long, long time. You should know by now you can't get rid of me."

* * *

The dark of the night was silent, still. The dark abandoned house at the end of the street was something of legend in Mystic Falls; the kids were always making up new ghost stories about it, tales of wives murdering unfaithful husbands and women drowning their children in the bathtub were common when they wanted to scare their fellow peers.

A group of these children passed by this house, giggling excitedly. They'd dared one of their braver friends to go in the house and say "Bloody Mary" three times. Nervously, the kid stepped out of the group, his steps quavering as he slowly slipped up the walkway, looking back to his friends to make sure they wouldn't abandon him. Gulping, the child reached the front door, reaching out a shaking hand to turn the knob. Suddenly, a loud crash came from inside the house. The kid jumped, racing down the walkway and back to his frightened peers, all of them streaking down the sidewalk, frightened shrieks warranting from their lips.

Klaus flipped down the blind of a window he'd been looking out of, grimacing. Stupid fucks. Why would they think it would be a good idea to go exploring such a mysterious house? He sighed, raking his hands through his hair. Staying in Mystic Falls for too long was going to drive him crazy; the people who lived here were just too in-tune with the supernatural entities that existed in his world.

A passing thought brought Damon back to his mind and Klaus roared, throwing his empty glass of liquor against the wall, relishing the shattering sound it created. He needed more anarchy, more destruction.

He lifted a chair, throwing it against the same wall. It smashed as well, splinters flying out and catching in his perfect skin. Laughing maniacally, Klaus picked up a tattered couch, slamming it against the wall. It tore a hole through the wall, breaking the couch in half.

Breathing hard, Klaus looked around for more things to smash. He reached for his bottle of wine, but stopped himself. It was just too good a year to waste. He set it back down, grabbing a cheap bottle of champagne instead, and threw it to the ground, kicking the glass shards away with his bare feet, his cuts healing instantly.

Klaus threw his head this way and that, wondering what else he could destroy, so it could get rid of some of his pain. Finding nothing, he flopped down on his back, letting the broken glass dig into his bare skin. Who the fuck cared about physical pain; the only thing that mattered to Klaus was Damon. That goddamned stupid kid, who thought his time with Klaus was something to be ashamed of. Something that should be forgotten, instead of cherished like Klaus had.

He dug his palms into his eyes, refusing to allow himself to cry again. He'd already shown such weakness once; he wasn't going to let there be a second time. "Stupid idiot. You're so stupid. You know you shouldn't let others know what you're feeling; you've learned before." He drew in a shuddering breath, releasing his eyes from his hands, staring up at the ceiling with a haunting look on his face. "Now he'll never love you," Klaus whispered brokenheartedly, his lips trembling.

* * *

_I love you_

_You love me_

_We're a happy family_

_With a great big hu_ —

Damon silenced the stupid ringtone by flipping his phone open, opening his eyes slowly. "Huh…hello?" He whispered, his voice gravelly with sleep.

"Jesus, wake up already. Get dressed and go outside. I have something for you."

Damon growled. "Stefan…" He snarled out, checking the clock. "It's fucking seven thirty in the fucking morning; where the hell are you?!"

Stefan's laughter grated on Damon's sleepy nerves. "Seriously, you need to learn to be a morning person. Come on, just come outside, I have something a surprise!"

Damon was wary about this "surprise". "…What is it?" Damon asked.

"Well, that would ruin the surprise, now wouldn't it?" Stefan responded, his tone too cheerful for Damon's grumpy mood.

"Look, if I go out there, will you leave me alone and let me get back to bed?" Damon asked, massaging his temples.

"Yeah, sure, just get out here already," Stefan said, growing impatient.

Damon yawned in response, shutting his phone on Stefan's comments. He slowly got up out of bed, stretched, and got ready for the day, only half-noticing what he picked out to wear.

When he got outside, he looked around, expecting to find Stefan with some large package or something. Instead, on the mailbox, he found a yellow post-it note.

_Look for a place where you would find a bunch of kids_

It said, and Damon groaned into his palm. "Fuck, I'm not going on some kind of scavenger hunt…" He growled out, whipping out his phone to give Stefan a piece of his mind. " _We're sorry, the number you have dialed is not available at this ti—"_ Damon snapped his phone shut, muttering profanities and wishing he could stick Stefan's cellphone up his ass. He sighed, breathing in the new Spring air, wondering what would happen if he just went back to bed. He realised Stefan would be depressed, and no matter what he said, Damon didn't like disappointing his boyfriend.

Sighing, Damon rubbed at his neck, wondering exactly where Stefan would want him to go. "Well, there's only one way to know," Damon said to himself, starting off.

* * *

At the pre-school, Damon looked around, training his eyes for a sight of yellow. He found it, pasted to the side of a swing set.

_Really? You thought I'd bring you here? Stupid._

Damon growled out a few cuss words, wondering just how long it would take to find this asshole. He had a few choice words for him.

Next, Damon checked the park, searching around for that annoying vampire. He finally found a post-it note stuck to a picnic bench, but unfortunately, it was for someone else. Damon sighed, then looked towards the playground again. He found a post-it stuck to a slide.

_Warmer_

Was all it said. Damon kicked the slide, sticking his hands in his pockets as he tried to contain his anger. "Goddamn stupid fucki—" He refrained from continuing his curses when a few kids close to him started giggling. Sucking in a calming breath, Damon continued on.

Finally, at some stupid Mystic Falls amusement park, Damon found a tall man with a shock of perfected wind-blown hair standing in front of the entrance, an amused smile on his face. "So, you finally realised, huh?" Stefan asked, before a fist connected with his nose.

Damon continued walking like nothing had happened, not even stopping to check and see if Stefan was alright. "Why'd you bring me here?" Damon muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Stefan just chuckled, catching up to Damon.

"Would you believe me if I told you we're on a special mission; the government's asked us to infiltrate this amusement park to see if they have child-laborers."

"Go fuck yourself," Damon responded, turning on his heel towards the parking lot.

"Ah, Damon, when will you ever learn to control your language around little kids, huh?" Stefan asked, catching his boyfriend's shirt from the back and smiling at an interested little girl. "Come on, I'll buy you an ice cream."

Damon turned around, his mouth set in a frown. "I get out of bed at seven in the morning to find that my _boyfriend"_ Damon's tone became hushed at this point, not wanting to alert anyone around them, "is sending me off to a bunch of places with kids where cuss words are like candy to them, just to find that he wants me to go to a fu—a freaking amusement park? No thanks; I'm going back to bed."

Stefan held Damon back by his shirt again; his face was a mask of disappointment. "Aw, come on, Damon. I just wanna go on a date, you know, to lighten the mood that's been around us lately. Klaus has you worried, and he's got me even more worried. I just wanna make sure you're alright, you know?" He asked, looking away.

Damon cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. Stefan really made him feel bad about this; the damn vampire's puppy dog eyes were near to killing him. "Gah, fine, since you just love exploiting my generosity," Damon harrumphed, once more changing his direction towards the ticket booth.

Stefan whooped, running up to Damon again. "I knew you'd see the light," he whistled, bumping elbows with him. "Hey, look, our wenises touched," he stated, quoting Jeremy.

"Seriously, you're even worse than Jeremy," Damon commented, stepping up in line, smiling at Stefan's back. Maybe today wouldn't be so terrible.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me," Damon stated, his body limp.

"Dude, this place is awesome! Look at all the roller coasters; I bet that one's over seventy feet tall! Whoa, look over there! They have a dunk tank! Haha, hey, wanna try some funnel cakes? Ooh, look, there's a—"

"Stefan!" Damon cried, grabbing his arm before his boyfriend could continue with his exclamations.

"What?" Stefan asked, looking to Damon, excitement coursing through his veins.

"This isn't what I signed up for," Damon said, sighing exasperatedly. At Stefan's pleading look, Damon almost caved in. "But…I don't like being surrounded by seven year olds," Damon whined, pouting. Stefan just kept on with his eyes, his mouth, his—"ah, goddammit, fine! We'll stay; just stop it with the puppy dog look for Christ's sake!"

Stefan smiled, straying towards one of the roller coasters. "Let's try this one first," Stefan stated, trying to tone down his excitement for Damon's sake.

Sighing, Damon followed, resigned to his fate. "Next time, I choose the place," Damon stated, biting his lip as they waited in yet another line.

* * *

After seven rides individually on each roller coaster, winning thirteen stuffed animals from the carnival games "no one was supposed to win", and going through the haunted house five times, you could say that Damon was fed up with living the life of a five year old with extremely good luck at carnival games.

"How much longer?" Damon asked Stefan through his straw, trying to keep the whine out of his voice. They'd finally stopped long enough to get a snack, sitting down at a table to drink coke, Damon slipping some scotch into his.

Stefan frowned at Damon; he thought for sure that if they went through enough his boyfriend would start to enjoy the festivities. "Aw, come on Damon, you can't tell me you're not having fun!"

Damon stared at Stefan, wondering if the vampire had forgotten what Damon had recently deemed "fun". Realising this, Stefan sighed, sitting back in his chair. "Damon…I just want a bit of normalcy, you know? To do something regular couples would do, no matter if they're gay or straight. I want us to experience everything you've seen in the movies, down to the very last cheesy detail. I want this to be the first relationship that you've ever found happiness in." Stefan's voice cracked, and he looked away to watch a few kids run by, playing tag.

Damon cleared his throat, feeling guilty. Sure, Stefan had been pretending with the whole puppy dog look, but this…this was real. Sighing, Damon ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip. He got up suddenly, grabbing Stefan's hand, which had been resting on the table. "Alright, you want to experience shit as a 'couple'; let's get to it then. What else would a couple do, huh?" He asked, smiling down at the vampire and tugging at his hand.

Smiling back, Stefan stood up. "Really? You mean it? Well…in every movie I've seen where they go to an amusement park, they always ride a Ferris Wheel…" Trailing off, Stefan looked at Damon hopefully.

Damon bit back a groan, not wanting to disappoint his boyfriend anymore. "Uh, that sounds…good, let's go, huh?" He said, walking towards the direction of the stupid wheel. Stefan smiled, catching up and discreetly holding his hand.

* * *

"Oh, Jesus, if this thing collapses, I'm blaming you," Damon declared, sitting straight and not daring to look down.

Stefan laughed, unintentionally rocking the little seat. "Who would have expected such a big, bad vampire to be scared of heights?"

"Stop it; you're rocking the chair," Damon bit out, "and besides, I'm not scared of heights, I'm just cautious of unsturdy piles of rust that probably break down most of the ti—" No sooner had those words left Damon's lips than the Ferris Wheel stopped, right when their chair had reached the climax of its circular path. "Oh, shit, oh, fuck, oh, goddammit…" Damon seethed, grasping the side of the chair in one hand and Stefan's shirt in the other, digging his fingernails into each.

"Whoa, ow, that kinda hurts, bud," Stefan winced, grabbing Damon's hand.

"If…I…let…go…I…will…most…likely…scream…" Damon let out slowly, pausing at every word to breathe deeply.

Stefan looked quizzically at Damon, wondering if his terror was real. Judging by his grip, Stefan supposed it was. "Come on, Damon. You know that even if you fell from this thing, you'd still live, right? You'd just feel a little pain for a while, then it'd be gone like that. But that wouldn't even happen; I wouldn't let it." Stefan paused to wrap his arms around Damon's shivering form. "Damon. You're okay. Alright? I'll take care of you; you don't need to worry." Nuzzling his face into Damon's neck, Stefan let his warm breath gust over Damon's chilled skin, warming him up. "You want me to distract you?" Stefan asked huskily, stroking Damon's hair.

Damon slowly turned his head to Stefan, his breath coming out in little puffs. "Yo—you think it would work?" Damon asked, willing to risk anything.

Not responding, Stefan just raised his head up, catching Damon's open mouth in his and kissing him, hard. He pulled their bodies closer together, his hands wrapped around Damon's waist. Damon clung to Stefan's neck, returning the kiss with a force Stefan had never perceived before; terror brought out a whole new side to Damon that Stefan liked.

"Alright, people, I think the machine's gonna work again." The call came from down below, probably from the man operating the Ferris Wheel. Damon separated from Stefan, his expression a mix of fright and happiness. Stefan just sat back, grumpy that they'd been interrupted.

After the people before them, the two vampires finally departed from the machine, walking briskly away from it. "If you ever try to get me on one of those death traps again, I'll literally tear your arm off," Damon stated, walking a little strangely as he tried to readjust to ground-level.

Stefan laughed, checking to make sure no one could see (they'd already left the park by now), then wrapped his arms around Damon's waist, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm sorry, Damon, I'll never make you go on one of those things again, even if I really enjoyed our make out session," he responded, rubbing his nose against Damon's.

Damon harrumphed, freeing himself from Stefan's arms and walking forward, crossing his arms. Stefan followed as they made their way back to their place, talking about random things along the way. Finally, they reached their house, and Damon stopped right at the mailbox, speechless. "Wuh…what the fuck?" He asked, his tone disbelieving.

In front of them was a path of rose petals, starting at the mailbox and ending at the front door, at least Damon thought. He didn't know if there was more behind it; he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. He looked to Stefan, surprising the other vampire by laughing. "What, you had to be so cheesy that you did the lamest thing?" He asked.

Stefan grinned sheepishly. "Hey, I deliver, right? Besides, I've been looking forward to this forever; we've been on more than a few dates and tonight is the night that I deflower you."

Damon laughed again. "Is your memory bad? I've already been 'deflowered.' And besides, nobody talks like that in the twenty-first century."

"Maybe, but not like the way it will be with me; this time, I'm going to make love to you, not have sex with you."

Damon paused, remembering another person who had referred to sex like that. Shaking his head, Damon cleared his mind of that person, smiling up at Stefan. "Alright, I guess if we're doing this, we're doing this, huh?"

Stefan smiled in answer, grabbing Damon's hand and towing him along behind him as he made his way up the walk to their house.


End file.
